Andrew Mango

Andrew James Alexander Mango (14 June 1926 – 6 July 2014) was a British BBC employee and author.

Andrew Mango
Mango in 2009 at a conference in Ankara, Turkey
Born14 June 1926
Istanbul, Turkey
Died6 July 2014(2014-07-06) (aged 88)
London, United Kingdom
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish, Turkish
NationalityBritish

Life

He was born in Istanbul, one of three sons of Alexander Mango, an Italian-Greek barrister and his Russian wife Adelaide Damonov; the Byzantinist Cyril Mango was his younger brother. He was brought up in Istanbul and mastered a number of languages.[1]

While still young, Mango took a job as press officer in the British Embassy at Ankara. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1947 and lived in London until his death.[1] He held degrees from the University of London, including a doctorate on Persian literature.

Mango joined the BBC's Turkish section while a student and spent his entire career in the External Services, rising to be Turkish Programme Organiser and then Head of the South European Service. He retired in 1986.[2] He died at the age of 88 on 6 July 2014. His death was announced by Richard Moore, the British Ambassador to Turkey.[2][3]

Works
  • Turkey (1968)
  • Discovering Turkey (1971)
  • Turkey: The Challenge of a New Role (1994)
  • Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey (1999)
  • The Turks Today (2004)
  • Turkey and the War on Terrorism (2005)
  • From the Sultan to Atatürk — Turkey (2009)

His background in Persian and Arabic studies allowed Mango to master Ottoman Turkish. He wrote his PhD thesis at the SOAS on Alexander the Great. Where he later throughout his career would also lecture as guest, and advise on modern Turkish studies.

Mango publised his first book in 1968, while he was working for the BBC. After his retirement his productivity increased. His book on Kemal Atatürk, from 1999, established an international reputation.[4]

Notes
  1. Fryer, Jonathan (21 July 2014). "Andrew Mango obituary". The Guardian.
  2. "Atatürk biographer Andrew Mango dies". hurriyetdailynews.com. 7 July 2014.
  3. Prominent scholar on Turkey Andrew Mango dies Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Andrew Mango - obituary". The Telegraph. 17 September 2014.

References
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