Distinguished Visitors: Asian Intellectuals and Public Figures at Harvard 

This panel explores the visits of influential Asian thinkers and political figures from India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Singapore to Harvard from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Focusing on figures such as Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore (India), Hu Shih of China, early Japanese and Korean visitors, the King of Thailand, and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, the discussion highlights how these encounters shaped intellectual exchange, diplomatic relationships, and Harvard’s emerging role as a site of global dialogue during critical periods of political and cultural change across Asia.