Htin Aung was born to an aristocratic Bermese family in Rangoon, British Burma, now called Myanmar. He attended the prestigious St. Paul's English High School in Rangoon (now called Yangon) and went on to recieve a Bachelors in English Liturature, Economics, and History from the University of Rangoon (1928) a Bachelor and Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics (1929-30), a Bachelor of Laws degree from Cambridge University (1930-31), a Master of Letters degree in Legal and Political Science and a Doctorate degree in English Literature from Trinity College (1931-34), and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Oxford University (1950).
Aung was an English Liturature professor at the University of Rangoon from 1936-1958, at the same time he served as a Barrister-at-Law and member of the Board of Exameners for Bar Examination until he was appointed President of Rangoon University in 1946. He was also enlisted in military service from 1937-1962 when he retired with the title Colonel and Honorary Aide-de-camp to the Presidents of Burma.
Aung was appointed ambassador to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1959 and in 1962 became an ambassador to the United Nations. He also authored books on the under-documented history and culture of Burma (Myanmar) under the pen name Maung Htin Aung, as well as translating others' works. He was a visiting professor at Columbia University (1963-1965) and Wake Forest University (1965-1967). Aung has an honorary degree from Wake Forest University. He died in 1978 in then-Rangoon.
This collection contains biographical information, photographs, an interview transcript, and handwritten and typed manuscripts of two Burmese history books written by Aung,
Htin Aung Papers (MS658), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Collection is open for use.
The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.