Robert Francis Byrnes

Robert Francis Byrnes (December 30, 1917, Waterville, New York – June 19, 1997, Ocean Isle, North Carolina) was an American professor of history, specializing in Russian history and Kremlinology.

Life Byrnes graduated from Amherst College in 1939. He became a graduate student at Harvard University in 1939, where he took a survey course in Russian history from Michael Karpovich and studied basic Russian under Samuel H. Cross. In 1943 Byrnes became a civilian employee of the military intelligence services, specializing in intelligence for the American bombing campaign against the Japanese electronics industry. In 1945 he was appointed to a one-year academic position at Swarthmore College, with an opportunity to teach Russian. He was a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic year 1951–1952. From 1954 to 1956 he was the director of a CIA-funded think tank on Soviet issues. The Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University Bloomington is named in his honor.

He was the author, editor, or co-editor of approximately 20 books.

Selected publications