LEGGE, J[ohn] D[avid] (1921–2016)

J[ohn] D[avid] Legge was widely regarded as the scholar who pioneered the teaching of the history of Asia in Australian universities, and specifically established Southeast Asian Studies there. In particular, he initiated, developed, and promoted Monash University to be one of the world’s leading centers for research and the study of Southeast Asia with Indonesia as its main focus. He was a specialist in Indonesia’s modern political history and historiography, and Southeast Asia in general. For some three decades, he epitomized Southeast Asia in Australian context.