Charles O. Hucker was born in St. Louis Missouri, on June 21, 1919. He received his PhD with honors in Chinese from the University of Chicago in 1950. He remained at the University of Chicago as an instructor, and later assistant professor of Chinese (1950-1956). In 1956 he went to the University of Arizona (1956-1961) to found a new undergraduate program of Oriental Studies. His experience at Arizona led him to Oakland University (1961-1965) where he designed a program of courses to satisfy an area studies distribution requirement for all students at a completely new university. While at Oakland University, Professor Hucker was chairman of the Committee on Asian Studies and Professor of History. He left Oakland University in 1965 to accept the challenge of chairing and rebuilding the University of Michigan's Department of Far Eastern Languages and Literatures. A professor of Chinese (1965-1983) and History (1965-1983), Dr. Hucker has taught at the University of Michigan since 1965.
Professor Hucker's principal interest as a scholar is the Ming Dynasty. His dissertation from Chicago concerned the Chinese Censorate of the Ming Dynasty, and he has since written numerous books, articles, and reviews regarding this period. He is active in professional associations, especially the Association for Asian Studies, serving on various committees, the Board of Directors (1960-1963), and as chairman of the Ming Biographical History Project (1960-1976). Professor Hucker is also director of the project for production of a Historical Dictionary of Chinese Official Titles, funded principally by the National Endowment for the Humanities (1976-)
From the guide to the Charles O. Hucker Papers, 1949-1982, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)
