author and academic Lê Thành Khôi

HÀ NỘI — Musician Nguyên Lê has announced that his father, the esteemed author and academic Lê Thành Khôi, aged 02, has died at his home in Paris. 

Born in Hà Nội to a family who treasured education, his father Lê Thành Ý was professor at the French Lycee Albert Sarraut in the city and his mother Phạm thị Nghĩa was among the first female teachers in Việt Nam. 

Lê Thành Khôi went to France in 1947 to study and successfully defended his doctorate in economics in 1949. He then pursued a diplome in literature, completed a doctorate in education and a further doctorate in literature and social sciences.

He later became professor at the University of Paris, among other prominent educational and economic institutions in France. 

In 1963, he became a UNESCO consultant and worked on various projects of the United Nations. 

In 1971, he was elected as Professor at the University Paris V. He wrote 25 scientific papers and co-authored 33 other published works. 

Professor Lê Thành Khôi received the title Knight of Literature and the Arts, Francophonie award by France in 2004 and Phan Châu Trinh Award by the Hà Nội based foundation of the same name. 

His book, History of Việt Nam from Beginning until mid XX Century was translated by Nguyễn Nghị and edited Nguyễn Thừa Hỷ, and jointly published by Nhã Nam and Thế Giới Publishers in 2014.

The title was a combination of his two other titles published in France: Le Viet Nam, Histoire et Civilisation (The Việt Nam, History and Civilisation, Minuit Paris 1955) and Histoire du Viet Nam, des origines à 1858 (History of Việt Nam from beginning until 1858, Sud-Est Asie, Paris 1982).

The two titles published in France have been widely used and cited among the scholars and researchers within Việt Nam.

The new title in Vietnamese gives the general and objectives views the nation's history. The scholar dedicated one full chapter to describe what he called 'national Vietnamese characteristics', a decisive factor in the building and defence of the country and the autonomy will power for independence and self-reliance.

In 2015, Professor Lê Thành Khôi and his wife donated more than 330 antiques from his private collection to the Hà Nội Museum of Ethnology. 

He is survived by three children and several grand and great grandchildren. OVN