Robert Thurman

Robert Thurman, 84, died on June 16, 2026. Robert Thurman was known publicly as an American Buddhist writer and academic. Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (August 4, 1941 - June 16, 2026) was an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019. He was the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. He also is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House US New York. He translated the Vimalakirti Sutra from the Tibetan Kanjur into English. Public biographical listings identify Thurman as an American Buddhist writer and academic. This public record remains centered on Thurman's work as an American Buddhist writer and academic and the documented milestones of that career.