Lydia T. Black ( December 16, 1925 - March 12, 2007 ) is an American anthropologist of Soviet descent [1] . She was awarded the American Book Prize for the book “Russians on Tlingit Land: The Battle of Sitka in 1802 and 1804” [2] .
| Lydia Black | |
|---|---|
| Lydia T. Black | |
| Date of Birth | December 16, 1925 |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | March 12, 2007 (81 years old) |
| Place of death | |
| A country | |
| Scientific field | anthropology , translation |
| Place of work | Providence College (since 1973), University of Alaska Fairbanks (1984 - 1998), St. German Theological Seminary |
| Alma mater | Brandeis University (1971), University of Massachusetts (1973) |
| Known as | author of the book "Russians in the Land of Tlingit: The Battle of Sitka, 1802 and 1804" |
| Awards and prizes |  |
Content
Biography
Childhood
Lydia was born in Kiev in a middle class family: mother Olga worked as a teacher, father as an engineer. A distant relative of Lydia, whom she called grandmother, learned the girl foreign languages, alternating weekly days of Russian, French and German. On Sunday, the family spoke Ukrainian, and at school Lydia studied English. After the execution of his father in 1933, the 8-year-old Lydia was declared the " enemy of the people " [3] .
World War II
The news of the Second World War overtook Lydia when she was resting in the summer with her grandfather in the country. Returning to Kiev, the girl found out about the death of her mother in a sanatorium from tuberculosis. Since the "grandmother" died a few years earlier, Lydia with her aunt and cousin moved out of town. For boiled potatoes they were allowed to spend the night in a shed by a peasant. She was sent from the village by an ostarbeiter to a German labor camp. Lydia preferred not to recall later the bullying in the factory, the soldier who left deep scars on her hands, but spoke about those Germans who helped her. During the war, Lydia also learned Polish [3] .
After the war, she worked as a cleaner in Munich , located in the American zone of influence. Between work, she spoke with American soldiers who learned that Lydia knew 6 languages. Soon she was enrolled as a translator at the UN Children's Assistance and Rehabilitation Camp. Lydia planned to study pedagogy as a mother, and listened to lectures. In the classroom, she met Igor Cherny, whom she later married. Their first daughter, Olga, died of measles two weeks before the delivery of antibiotics that stopped the epidemic [3] .
Emigration to the US
Having learned about the agreement of the Alliance to exchange citizens and prisoners, Lydia, who had the status of "enemy of the people" and Igor decided not to return to the USSR, but to emigrate to the USA. They moved in 1950 to New Jersey . Igor did not know English well and got a job at a gas station, Lydia - an accountant in a store. Moving from city to city ( Michigan , Cambridge in the UK, Texas , Massachusetts ), the family was replenished with daughters: Maria, Anna, Elena and Zoe. In 1969, Igor passed away. Lydia decided to get a teacher’s education, but due to the lack of such discipline at the nearest university, she chose history [3] .
Career
Lydia graduated from Brandeis University in 1971 with a master's degree and University of Massachusetts with a doctorate in 1973. Lydia studied the history and culture of the Aleuts , as well as the relationship of the Aleuts and Russians [3] .
She taught at Providence College since 1973, at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks in 1984-1998 [1] . She was engaged in translations and cataloging of the Russian archives of the Holy German Theological Seminary , having earned the cross of St. Herman. In April 2001, along with anthropologist Richard Pierce, historians Barbara Svitland Smith, John Middleton-Middlewell and Victor Petrov (posthumously), Lydia Black was awarded the Order of Friendship at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco [4] .
She was buried in the cemetery of Kodiak [5] . In 2009, she was included in the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame list.
Family
Married to Igor A. Black (Black; died in 1969) - an NASA engineer - gave birth to 5 daughters: Olga (died in childhood), Maria, Anna, Elena, Zoya.
Rewards
- Order of Friendship ( December 23, 2000 , Russia ) - for a great contribution to the strengthening of friendly ties and the development of Russian-American cooperation [6] .
Proceedings
In total, she wrote about 53 books and scientific articles. Among them:
- Russians in Alaska in 1732-1867 / Russians in Alaska , 1732-1867. University of Alaska Press. 2004. ISBN 978-1-889963-04-4.
- Russians in the land of the Tlingit / Russians in Tlingit America (co-authored with Nora Dauenhauer, Richard Dauenhauer). University of Washington Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-295-98601-2.
- The Diary of Jacob Netsvetov : The Yukon Years 1845-1863 / The journals of Iakov Netsvetov: the Yukon years 1845-1863 (translated into English ). The Limestone Press, 1984. ISBN 978-0-919642-01-0.
- Glory remembered
- A good and faithful servant
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Lydia T. Black 1925 to 2007 | Biocultural Science & Management (March 17, 2012). Date of treatment July 26, 2017. Archived March 17, 2012.
- ↑ Nora Dauenhauer, Richard Dauenhauer, Lydia Black. Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka, 1802 And 1804. - University of Washington Press, 2008 .-- 491 p. - (Classics of Tlingit oral literature). - ISBN 0295986018 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Biography of Lydia Black .
- ↑ Khatskevich Emilia. WE ARE IN THE POWER OF SCIENCE. In Alaska, preserved Russian "territory" // Obschaia Gazeta. - 2001. - August 5. - S. 11 .
- ↑ Dr Lydia T. Black (1925 - 2007) - Find A Grave Memorial . www.findagrave.com. Date of treatment July 26, 2017.
- ↑ Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 23, 2000 No. 2042 “On the Awarding of Citizens of the United States of America with the Order of Friendship”