Frank Daigh van Aalst ’54

Frank Daigh van Aalst ’54 passed away on January 21 in West Bengal, India. He came to Dartmouth from Beaverton, Oregon, where he attended Stadium High School. At Dartmouth he was a history major and a senior fellow. After graduation from Dartmouth he went to India, where he completed a master’s in Indian history at Banaras University in 1858. Frank then returned to the United States to complete a master’s in divinity at Princeton University and a doctor of philosophy degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Frank then moved to Jaipur, India, to join the faculty of the Rajasthan University history department. In 1970 he returned to the United States to serve as chair of the department of history at Saint Mary’s College. In 1976 he moved to Charleston College in South Carolina, where he became dean of career development. In 1985 he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he became vice president of academic affairs until retirement in 1995. After the 2005 passing of his wife, Jeanette, he returned to Saint Mary’s College to lead college-sponsored trips to India and China. Frank eventually returned to India, where he lived until his passing. His sons, Joseph and John, survive him.