Paul A Cohen

On September 15, 2025, Paul A. Cohen, loving father, grandfather and highly respected Chinese historian passed away at the age of 91. Paul was a resident of Belmont MA for over 50 years. He was born on June 2, 1934 in Great Neck, New York to the late Wilfred P. and Rose J. Cohen. He attended Great Neck High School and received his B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1955. He received his PhD in 1961 from Harvard University. While completing his doctorate he spent two years living and studying in Taiwan. He taught Chinese history at Wellesley College for 35 years until his retirement and held the Edith Stix Wasserman chair there. For decades, he was an Associate at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. He authored many books on Chinese history, several of which are widely used in Chinese history courses around the world and have been translated into other languages including Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

News of Professor Cohen’s passing has spread quickly in China. Paul spent years writing and teaching about Modern Chinese history. His research interests include Chinese intellectual history, the history of Sino-Western relations, historiography, and the conflict between critical history and public memory. His representative works include

• Between Tradition and Modernity: Wang Tao and Late Qing Reform (1974)
• Discovering History in China: The Rise of Sinocentrism in America (1984)
• History in Three Keys: The Boxer Rebellion as Event, Experience, and Myth (1997)
• Speaking to History: Narratives of Goujian, King of Yue, in Twentieth-Century China (2008)
• History and Popular Memory: The Power of Stories in Times of Crisis (2014)
• A Path Twice Traveled: My Journey as an Historian of China (2019)

In addition to his passion for his career, Paul Cohen was devoted to his family. He was very involved in raising his four children: Joanna, Nathaniel and Lisa from his first marriage to Andrea O. Dean (dec.) and Emily from his second marriage to Jane M. Cohen. Paul was an avid gardener, gourmet cook and baker. He also enjoyed reading, outdoor activities, art, photography and international travel.

Paul approached the world with curiosity and an open mind. He was honest, loyal, reliable and had a strong sense of integrity and humor. He was a teacher and philosopher to the end.

Paul will be deeply missed by his children, his grandchildren Jesse Cohen, Julia Bingel, Sonja, Vivien and Talya Eiseman, his sons-in-law Dermot Morrisroe, Peter Black, Ted Eiseman, his daughter-in-law Jody DeMatteo and his partner of 28 years Elizabeth Sinn. He was predeceased by his sisters Barbara Freedman, Sue Olin and Alice Bennet Culver.

Celebration of Life is April 11, 2026 Mt Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge MA 11:00 A.M.

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