Frank Tachau

Frank Tachau (19 October 1929 – 23 July 2010) was an American scholar of German descent.

Early life and education Frank Tachau was born in Braunschweig into a Jewish family. His father was Paul Tachau and his mother Ilse Tachau. Tachau graduated from the Hyde Park Academy High School. He graduated with a BSc and eventually obtained an MSc in political sciences from the University of Chicago. He received his Ph.D in international relations from the same university in 1958 for a dissertation on Turkish nationalism.

Academic career His early academic career led him to Purdue and Rutgers universities. From September 1963 to June 1964 he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Ankara. He conducted extensive research on the politics in Turkey and the Ottoman Empire; was appointed a visiting professor to several Turkish universities; and mastered both modern Turkish and Ottoman Turkish. The interviews he conducted with members of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) have been cited in the work of other researchers. His work contributed to the University of Illinois Chicago's engagement with international scholarship, particularly in Middle Eastern studies.

Personal life Frank Tachau was married and the father of five children. He died on 23 July 2010.