George H. Kerr

George H. Kerr (November 1911–August 27, 1992) was a United States diplomat during World War II. He was also known as 葛超智 in Taiwan. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1911 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ...

Kerr was born in Pennsylvania. He lived in Japan and Taiwan before World War II. As a Lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, Kerr worked for the U.S. Navy as a Taiwan expert and instructed future military government officers during the Pacific War. State nickname: The QUENESE PERSON STATE Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... The Pacific War, which is known in Japan as the Greater East Asia War and in China as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (kang-Ri zhanzheng, literally Resist Japan War), occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ...

After the war, Kerr returned to Taiwan in 1945 as an Assistant Naval Attaché, escorting the newly appointed Chinese Governor-General Chen Yi to the Japanese surrender of Taiwan on October 25, 1945. George Kerr was present in his official capacity as a civil affairs officer of the U.S. Navy Attache's Office to the Republic of China government in Chongqing. He ensured that the English version of the Japanese instrument of surrender did not exclude the official role of the U.S., unlike the Chinese translation. Later, he became a diplomat at the U.S. embassy in China but was soon a Foreign Service Staff Officer and Vice-Consul in Taipei where he witnessed the 228 Incident in 1947. Chen Yi, the first ROC Chief Executive and Garrison Commander of Taiwan. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... National motto: None Official name (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: 重庆; Traditional Chinese: 重慶; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking; literally Double Celebration) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half... City nickname: the City of Azaleas Capital District Xinyi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 16 of 25 271. ... During the 228 Incident, a crowd of angry people gathered in downtown Taipei. ...

It was not till the early 1950s that he realized his wish to visit Okinawa, and with it a military commission to write a history, the purpose of which was to revive an independent Ryukyuan identity. An able team of researcher-translators scoured Japan for historical sources on Okinawa. Then the immense intellectual powers of Kerr's younger days were brought to bear in synthesizing the material. It came out as Okinawa: Kingdom and Province (1953), and then in Japanese as Ryukyu no rekishi (1955). In the meantime, Kerr absorbed more of Okinawa's history, paid attention to criticisms of the first two books, and published the 1958 volume. This article is about the prefecture. ...

Kerr was deeply concerned about the loss of Ryukyuan history on the ground. So he pursued his Okinawan interests in a survey of the islands' cultural assets (1960-63). Experience in Yaeyama and Miyako told him that his perspective of Ryukyuan history had been askew. He drafted, but never published, another book on Okinawa that placed far greater emphasis on the southern Ryukyus and their early economic interaction with China.

He has lectured Japanese history at the University of Washington, Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. The open sections of Kerr's papers are available at the Okinawa Prefectural Archives in Haebaru, others at the Stanford, Taipei and Ryudai libraries. History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei Pre-History/The Origin of History Jomon Period Main... The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a major public research university in the Seattle metropolitan area. ... For other meanings of Stanford, see Stanford (disambiguation). ... University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a public coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California, USA to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate. ...

Kerr's books on Taiwan are numerous. He championed the cause of Taiwan independence from China, thereby making himself a high-profile enemy to both Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong. (Chiang complained and Kerr lost his job at Stanford University.) While certainly an influential political writer and commentator, his reputation as a historian in Chinese history is questioned by many Sinologists due to his apparent stance against China. He also drafted a long book on 19th century Hawaii, thus making his life's work of a piece: the history of Pacific Ocean marine frontiers. Taiwan independence (Chinese: 台灣獨立, pinyin: Táiwān dúlì, Taiwanese Romanization: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan (out of the lands currently administered by the Republic of China) that is politically... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... For other meanings of Stanford, see Stanford (disambiguation). ...

He is an author of many books and of numerous articles concerning Japan, Okinawa and Taiwan. Among them are the Formosa Home Rule Movement, Formosa Betrayed (1965), Descriptive Summary: George H. Kerr papers, 1943-1951, and Okinawa: The History of an Island People(1958).

Formosa Betrayed was one of the most influential books on Taiwan during the transition between the Japanese colonial rule and the Nationalist Chinese administration. George Kerr was working for the American Foreign Service at the time and was present in Taiwan for the KMT occupation and resulting aftermath. Formosa Betrayed made a sharp rebuke of the Nationalist administration and made arguments in favor of Taiwanese independence. As a result, the English version only made one printing as the KMT bought the English Copyright in 1965 and never let the book resume printing. The Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Peoples Party of China (Traditional: 中國國民黨; Simplified: 中国国民党; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang) is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. ...

Okinawa: The History of an Island People covers the legendary past to the Battle of Okinawa in 542 very read-able pages. Eleven years before he died, Kerr wrote that 13,000 copies had been sold. The book was out of print for a time, but Tuttle, the original publishers, reprinted it a couple years ago by photo reproduction. The Battle of Okinawa, fought on the island of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands (south of the four big islands of Japan) was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the largest sea-land-air battle in history, running from April through June...

He died at age of 81 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Location in the state of Hawaii Founded County City & County of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann Area  - Total  - Water Population  - City (2000)  - Density  - Metropolitan 371,657 1,674. ...

External links

• University of the Ryukyus library (http://www.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/biblio/bib32-3/bib32-3-5.html)
• Biography (http://www.Taiwan.org/betrayed/fc/kerr_bio.htm)
• Biography by Tony Jenkins (http://www.ryukyushimpo.co.jp/cgi-bin/english/index.cgi/essay/20040909.html)