Marius Berthus Jansen ’44

Marius died Dec. 10, 2000. He was born in the Netherlands, coming to Princeton from Wrentham [Massachusetts] H.S. He majored in history at Princeton, graduating in 1943 summa cum laude; he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Following three years of military service in Okinawa and Japan as a member of Army counter intelligence, he turned his interest from European to Japanese history, earning his doctorate at Harvard. He began teaching at the U. of Washington. He came to Princeton in 1959, where he directed the program in East Asian studies (1962- 68) and was the first chair of the new department of East Asian studies (1969-72).

Marius received many honors, including the Behrman Award for excellence in the teaching of humanities, the presidency of the Assn. for Asian Studies, and, from the Emperor of Japan, the Order of the Sacred Treasure. He wrote over 20 books, including Sakainoto Ryoina and the Meiji Restoration, and in 2000 Harvard U. Press published his magisterial The Making of Modern Japan.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jean Hamilton Jansen, his daughter, Maria, and three grandchildren. To them and to his many former students and classmates to whom he meant so much, the class extends regrets.

The Class of 1944