Peter W. Fay, 79; Author Was Caltech Professor of History
- Share via
Peter W. Fay, 79, professor emeritus of history at Caltech and author of “The Opium War, 1840-1842,” died Sunday at his home in Sierra Madre after a long illness.
A member of the Caltech faculty from 1955 until his retirement in 1997, Fay was an authority on China and India.
He also wrote “The Forgotten Army: India’s Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945.”
Born in Paris, Fay earned his bachelor’s degree at Harvard and attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, earning a second bachelor’s degree.
He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II. After the war, he went back to Harvard, where he earned his doctorate; he taught at Williams College before joining the Caltech faculty.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
