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 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, where he completed a master’s in divinity at Princeton University. He then moved to Philadelphia, where he earned a doctor of philosophy degree at the University of Pennsylvania after 10 years. Frank then moved to Jaipur, India, joining the faculty at Rajasthan University in the department of history, teaching several history classes. In 1970 he returned to the United States and served as chair of the department of history at Saint Mary’s College. In 1976 he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and became dean of career development at the college there. In 1985 he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he became vice president of academic affairs, retiring in 1995. After the passing of his wife, Jeanette, in 2005, 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.