Inga Clendinnen

Inga Vivienne Clendinnen, (; 17 August 1934 – 8 September 2016) was an Australian author, historian, anthropologist, and academic. Her work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was an authority on Aztec civilisation and pre-Columbian ritual human sacrifice. She also wrote about the Holocaust and on first contacts between Indigenous Australians and white explorers. At her death, she was an Emeritus Scholar at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

Early life and education Clendinnen was born in Geelong, Victoria, on 17 August 1934. She was the youngest of four children. Her father owned a cabinet-making business and later became a Geelong City Councillor; her mother was a homemaker. Clendinnen graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, followed by a Master of Arts in 1975.

Career Clendinnen's work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was considered an authority on Aztec civilisation and pre-Columbian ritual human sacrifice. She also wrote on the Holocaust, and on first contacts between Indigenous Australians and white explorers. The ideas presented in these lectures, concerning first contacts in Australia, were later published as True Stories.

In the Australia Day 2006 Honours List, Clendinnen was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), with a citation that read:

Clendinnen's AO award was noted and a motion paying tribute to her contributions was passed, in the proceedings of the New South Wales State Parliament's Upper House.

Personal life and death Clendinnen married the philosopher of science John Clendinnen in 1955, and had two children with him. Clendinnen died on 8 September 2016 after a short illness.

Awards and nominations 1988 – received the Herbert Eugene Bolton Memorial Prize for Ambivalent Conquests 1999 – Reading the Holocaust was judged Best Book of the Year by The New York Times 2000 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing for Reading the Holocaust 2002 – received the Adelaide Festival Award for Innovation for Tiger's Eye 2003 – received the New South Wales Premier's History Award for her piece "History Here: a Vier from Outside" 2004 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction for Dancing with Strangers 2005 – recipient of the ASA (Australian Society of Authors) biennial medal 2007 – received the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal 2016 – Dan David Prize