Malcolm H. Wiener (born July 3, 1935) is an American attorney, prehistorian and philanthropist. Most notably, Wiener has served as general counsel of the Archaeological Institute of America, as an advisor for the United States Department of State and as principal and chairman of The Millburn Ridgefield Corporation and ShareInVest, both asset management firms.
In 1988, Wiener endowed the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The center focuses on increasing social and economic wellbeing, equity and opportunity, and to advance the cause of social justice and effective social programs. He is also a trustee emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds honorary doctorates from multiple institutions, including the University of Cincinnati.
Early life and education
Wiener was born July 3, 1935 in Qingdao, China, to American parents Myron Wiener and Ethel Wiener (née Zimmerman). He was raised in a Jewish family. His mother was born in Yantai to Russian-born Samuel Zimmerman and she died when he was only 4 days old. Wiener came to the United States to San Francisco in 1939.
He was awarded a Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship for study at Harvard College; the award was made "on the basis of financial need, and high academic personal promise in class and extracurricular activities". He graduated magna cum laude with an honors thesis in economics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. While at Harvard, he was president of the University Chess Club. Between his years at Harvard College (1953âÂÂ1957) and Harvard Law School (1960âÂÂ1963), he served at sea as an Ensign/Lieutenant JG in the United States Navy from 1957 to 1960.
Career
Wiener was the founder and CEO of The Millburn Corporation (later Millburn Ridgefield LLC, 1977-1997) CommInVest (1977-1997) and ShareInVest (1982-1997). In 1981 he founded the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP) and in 1984 the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation (both are registered non-profit organizations). From 1996 to 2010, he served as a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From 1984 to 2016, he served as a Trustee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the last five years as Chair of the Board; at the American School, he proposed and funded the Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science (1992).
The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University was founded and funded by Wiener. The Center encompasses programs in health, criminal justice, housing, education, and inequality. Wiener has also published several works on economic policy.
Wiener is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. There, he has been active in promoting the consideration of non-lethal military technologies; in particular, he chaired and authored the report of a CFR Independent Task Force on the subject in 1995. He also endowed the CFR Annual Lecture on Science and Technology.
Wiener is the author of numerous works on Aegean prehistory and the eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze Age. Several works have focused on the chronology of the Bronze Age Mediterranean world. His publication (2014) on "The Interaction of Climate Change and Agency in the Collapse of Civilizations ca. 2300âÂÂ2000 B.C." has attracted notice for its contribution to the history of climate change episodes in world history.
Awards and recognition
Wiener has received seven honorary doctorates: Litt.D., University of Sheffield, 1997; Ph.D., University of Tübingen, 1998; D., University of Athens, 1998; Dr. of Humane Letters, University of Cincinnati, 2007; D.Sc., University College London, 2009; D. Archaeology, Dickinson College, 2013; D.Sc., University of Arizona, 2014.
Wiener is a Fellow or Member of the following: the Academy of Athens, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Austrian Archaeological Institute, the German Archaeological Institute, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, and the Society of Antiquaries of London. He is a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and an Honorary Member of the Board of the Archaeological Society at Athens. He has also received the Ring of Honour of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, Germany. Additionally, he received the Bandelier Award for Public Service to Archaeology from the Archaeological Institute of America, and the Philhellene Award and Athens Prize from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. In 2014, the Greek government bestowed upon him the Gold Cross of the Order of Honor.
Personal life
Wiener was previously married to Mary F. McLarnon in 1975.
On June 8, 1990, Wiener married Carolyn Talbot Seely (born 1948), a daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Frederic T. Seely, of Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was Counsel to the Republican Leader Bob Dole and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Baltimore's School of Law.
Wiener is a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Publications
- âÂÂThe Dating Game: The History and Present State of the Controversy Concerning the Date of the Theran EruptionâÂÂ, CHRONOS: Stratigraphic Analysis, Pottery Seriation and Radiocarbon Dating in Mediterranean Chronology, 2024, pp. 181âÂÂ189.
- âÂÂProcessions Aplenty: From Elite Palatial Parades to Mass Population Pilgrimages in Middle and Late Minoan CreteâÂÂ, Processions: Bronze Age Ceremonial Studies Presented to Robert B. Koehl, 2023, pp. 3âÂÂ7.
- âÂÂTravels with HughâÂÂ, Megistos Kouros: Studies in Honour of Hugh Sackett, 2022.
- âÂÂThe Population and Depopulation of Late Minoan CreteâÂÂ, Kleronomia: Legacy and Inheritance. Studies on the Aegean Bronze Age in Honor of Jeffrey S. Soles, 2022, pp. 217âÂÂ228.
- âÂÂThe Fateful Century: From the Destruction of Crete ca. 1450âÂÂ1440 to the Destruction of Knossos ca. 1350âÂÂ1340âÂÂ, One State, Many Worlds: Crete in the Late Minoan II-IIIA2 Early Period. Proceedings of the International Conference Held at Khania, ÃÂõóìûÿ ÃÂÃÂÃÂõýìûù, 21stâÂÂ23rd November 2019, 2022, pp. 97âÂÂ115.
- âÂÂMinoan ColonizationâÂÂ, Political Geographies of the Bronze Age Aegean. Proceedings of the Joint Workshop of the Belgian School at Athens (EBSA) and the Netherlands Institute at Athens (NIA) May 28 to 31, 2019, 2022, pp. 251âÂÂ257.
- âÂÂThe Contribution of Archaeological Science to the Study of Animals in Aegean PrehistoryâÂÂ, Zoia. Animal-Human Interactions in the Aegean Middle and Late Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 18th International Aegean Conference, originally to be held at the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory, in the Department of Classics, The University of Texas at Austin, May 28âÂÂ31, 2020, Aegaeum 45, 2021, pp. 29âÂÂ33.
- âÂÂHelladic Greece from the Middle Bronze Age to c. 1350 BCEâÂÂ, From Past to Present. Studies in Memory of Manfred O. Korfmann, 2020, pp. 279âÂÂ331.
- âÂÂForewordâÂÂ, àÃÂÃÂÃÂñ. ÃÂõûÃÂÃÂõàóùñ ÃÂ÷ý ñÃÂÃÂñùÿûÿóïñ ÃÂÃÂ÷ý ÃÂõýÃÂÃÂùúî ÃÂûûìôñ ÃÂÃÂÿàÃÂùüîý ÃÂ÷àæñýÿÃÂ
ÃÂïñàÃÂñúÿÃÂÃÂýùñ, 2018.
- âÂÂThe Impact of Climate Change, Famines, Mass Migrations, Epidemics, and Warfare in the Collapse of Civilizations: Recent Evidence from Archaeological ScienceâÂÂ, àÃÂñúÃÂùúñ ÃÂֈAúñô÷üïñ Aø÷ýÃÂý 93 B, 2018, pp. 49âÂÂ68.
- âÂÂThe Significance of Recent Developments in Egyptian Chronology for the Absolute Chronology of Late Helladic IâÂÂIII and the Middle, Recent, and Final Bronze Age Chronology of ItalyâÂÂ, MEDITERRANEA ITINERA: Studies in Honour of Lucia Vagnetti, 2018, pp. 3âÂÂ10.
- âÂÂThe Collapse of CivilizationsâÂÂ, Belfer Center Paper, September 2018. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.
- âÂÂCauses of Complex Systems Collapse in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and Italy at the End of the Bronze AgeâÂÂ, âÂÂSea Peoplesâ Up-to-Date: New Research on the Transformations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 13thâÂÂ11th Centuries BCE, 2017, pp. 43âÂÂ74.
- âÂÂIl mondo miceneo e OmeroâÂÂ, Manuale di Epigrafia Micenea. Introduzione allo studio dei testi in lineare B, 2016, pp. 23âÂÂ50.
- âÂÂHelladic Pairs of CupsâÂÂ, Studies in Aegean Art and Culture. A New York Aegean Bronze Age Colloquium in Memory of Ellen N. Davis, 2016, pp. 11âÂÂ26.
- âÂÂBeyond the Versailles Effect: Mycenaean Greece and Minoan CreteâÂÂ, RA-PI-NE-U: Studies on the Mycenaean World Offered to Robert Laffineur for His 70th Birthday, Aegis 10, 2016, pp. 365âÂÂ378.
- âÂÂAegean Warfare at the Opening of the Late Bronze Age in Image and RealityâÂÂ, METAPHYSIS. Ritual, Myth and Symbolism in the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 15th International Aegean Conference, Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences and Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna (22âÂÂ25 April 2014), Aegaeum 39, 2016, pp. 139âÂÂ146.
- âÂÂThe Scientific Study of AntiquityâÂÂ, Daedalus 145.2, 2016, p. 112.
- âÂÂOh, NoâÂÂNot Another Chronology!â The Art and Culture of Ancient Egypt: Studies in Honor of Dorothea Arnold (Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar 19, 2010), 2015, pp. 649âÂÂ663.
- âÂÂThe Mycenaean Conquest of Minoan CreteâÂÂ, The Great Islands: Studies of Crete and Cyprus Presented to Gerald Cadogan, 2015, pp. 131âÂÂ142.
- âÂÂDating the Theran Eruption: Archaeological Science Versus Nonsense ScienceâÂÂ, Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective, 2015, pp. 131âÂÂ143.
- âÂÂThe Interaction of Climate Change and Agency in the Collapse of Civilizations ca. 2300âÂÂ2000 BCâÂÂ, Radiocarbon 56(4) / Tree-Ring Research 70(3), 2014, pp. S1âÂÂ16.
- âÂÂDating the Emergence of Historical Israel in Light of Recent Developments in Egyptian ChronologyâÂÂ, Tel Aviv 41, 2014, pp. 49âÂÂ53.
- âÂÂRadiocarbon Dating of the Theran EruptionâÂÂ, Proceedings of the 38th International Symposium on Archaeometry, Tampa, Florida, May 10âÂÂ14, 2010, Open Journal of Archaeometry 2, 5265, 2014.
- âÂÂRealities of Power: The Minoan Thalassocracy in Historical PerspectiveâÂÂ, ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ: The Quest for Excellence. Studies Presented to Guenter Kopcke in Celebration of His 75th Birthday, 2013, pp. 149âÂÂ173.
- â âÂÂMinding the Gapâ Gaps, Destructions, and Migrations in the Early Bronze Age Aegean: Causes and ConsequencesâÂÂ, American Journal of Archaeology 117, 2013, pp. 581âÂÂ592.
- âÂÂContacts: Crete, Egypt and the Near East circa 2000 B.C.âÂÂ, Cultures in Contact: From Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C., 2013, pp. 34âÂÂ43.
- âÂÂProblems in the Measurement, Calibration, Analysis and Communication of Radiocarbon Dates (with Special Reference to the Prehistory of the Aegean World)âÂÂ, Proceedings of Radiocarbon and Archaeology, 6th International Symposium, Pafos, Cyprus, April 10âÂÂ15, 2011, special issue, Radiocarbon 54(3âÂÂ4), 2012, pp. 423âÂÂ434.
- âÂÂConical Cups: From Mystery to HistoryâÂÂ, Our Cups Are Full: Pottery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age. Studies in Honor of Jeremy B. Rutter on the Occasion of His Birthday, 2011, pp. 355âÂÂ368.
- âÂÂCarl William Blegen (1887âÂÂ1971)âÂÂ, âÂÂSir Arthur John Evans (1851âÂÂ1941)â and âÂÂMycenaeâÂÂ, Homer Encyclopedia, 2011, pp. 133âÂÂ135, 280âÂÂ281, 535âÂÂ538.
- âÂÂA Point in TimeâÂÂ, Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honour of Peter Warren (British School at Athens Suppl. 18), 2010, pp. 367âÂÂ394.
- âÂÂLocating AhhiyawaâÂÂ, ÃÂéáÃÂÃÂ:äùü÷ÃÂùúÿàäÿüÿàóùñ ÃÂÿý ÃÂñø÷ó÷ÃÂ÷ ãÃÂÃÂ
ÃÂÿ ÃÂñúÃÂòùô÷, 2009, pp. 701âÂÂ715.
- Thera Discussion: âÂÂM.H. WienerâÂÂs Reply to the Papers by Manning et al. and Friedrich et al.â and âÂÂM.H. WienerâÂÂs Response to the Friedrich et al. and Manning et al. ResponsesâÂÂ, TreeâÂÂRings, Kings, and Old World Archaeology and Environment: Papers Presented in Honor of Peter Ian Kuniholm, 2009, pp. 317âÂÂ332.
- âÂÂCold Fusion: The Uneasy Alliance of History and ScienceâÂÂ, Tree-Rings, Kings, and Old World Archaeology and Environment: Papers Presented in Honor of Peter Ian Kuniholm, 2009, pp. 277âÂÂ292.
- âÂÂThe State of the Debate about the Date of the Theran EruptionâÂÂ, TimeâÂÂs Up: Dating the Minoan Eruption of Santorini, Acts of the Minoan Eruption Chronology Workshop, Sandbjerg (November 2007), 2009, pp. 197âÂÂ206.
- âÂÂNeopalatial Knossos: Rule and RoleâÂÂ, Krinoi kai Limenes: Studies in Honor of Joseph and Maria Shaw, 2007, pp. 231âÂÂ242.
- âÂÂHomer and History: Old Questions, New EvidenceâÂÂ, EPOS: Reconsidering Greek Epic and Aegean Bronze Age Archaeology, Proceedings of the 11th International Aegean Conference, Los Angeles, UCLA-The J. Paul Getty Villa (20âÂÂ23 April 2006), Aegaeum 28, 2007, pp. 3âÂÂ33, ills. IâÂÂII.
- âÂÂTimes Change: The Current State of the Debate in Old World ChronologyâÂÂ, Proceedings of the 2nd EuroConference of âÂÂSCIEM 2000âÂÂ, 28 MayâÂÂ1 June 2003, Vienna, 2007, pp. 25âÂÂ47.
- âÂÂPalatial Potters in Mycenaean GreeceâÂÂ, ãäÃÂæÃÂÃÂÃÂã ÃÂáÃÂãäÃÂÃÂÃÂã: Archäologische Forschungen zwischen Nil und Istros. Festschrift für Stefan Hiller zum 65. Geburtstag, 2007, pp. 271-277.
- Malcolm H. Wiener et al. (eds.), Pottery and Society, The Impact of Recent Studies in Minoan Pottery, Gold Medal Colloquium in Honor of Philip P. Betancourt, 104th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New Orleans, Louisiana (5 January 2003), 2006.
- âÂÂPots and PolitiesâÂÂ, Pottery and Society, The Impact of Recent Studies in Minoan Pottery, Gold Medal Colloquium in Honor of Philip P. Betancourt, 104th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New Orleans, Louisiana (5 January 2003), 2006, pp. 1-21.
- âÂÂEgypt and TimeâÂÂ, Egypt and the Levant 16, 2006, pp. 325-339.
- âÂÂChronology Going Forward (With a Query about 1525/4 B.C.)âÂÂ, Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak, Vol. 3, 2006, pp. 317-328.
- âÂÂThe Absolute Chronology of Late Helladic III A2 RevisitedâÂÂ, Annual of the British School at Athens 98, 2003, pp. 239âÂÂ250.
- âÂÂTime Out: The Current Impasse in Bronze Age Archaeological DatingâÂÂ, METRON: Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age, Proceedings of the 9th International Aegean Conference, New Haven, Yale University (18âÂÂ21 April 2002), Aegaeum 24, 2003, pp. 363âÂÂ399, ills. LXXâÂÂLXXI.
- âÂÂReport on the Final General Discussion: Introductory RemarksâÂÂ, LH IIIC Chronology and Synchronisms, Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences at Vienna, (7âÂÂ8 May 2001), 2003, pp. 245âÂÂ247.
- âÂÂThe White Slip I of Tell el-DabâÂÂa and Thera: Critical Challenge for the Aegean Long ChronologyâÂÂ, The White Slip Ware of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, Proceedings of an International Conference Organized by the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation, Nicosia in Honour of Malcolm Wiener, Nicosia (29âÂÂ30 October 1998), Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean, Vol. 2, 2001, pp. 195âÂÂ202.
- âÂÂPresent Arms / Oars / Ingots: Searching for Evidence of Military or Maritime Administration in LM IBâÂÂ, POLEMOS, Le contexte guerrier en ÃÂgée àl'âge du Bronze, Actes de la 7e Rencontre égéenne internationale Université de Liège (14âÂÂ17 avril 1998), Aegaeum 19, 1999, pp. 411âÂÂ423, ill. LXXX.
- âÂÂThe Absolute Chronology of Late Helladic IIIA2âÂÂ, Sardinian and Aegean Chronology, Towards the Resolution of Relative and Absolute Dating in the Mediterranean, Proceedings of the International Colloquium âÂÂSardinian Stratigraphy and Mediterranean ChronologyâÂÂ, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts (17âÂÂ19 March 1995), Studies in Sardinian Archaeology 5, 1998, pp. 309âÂÂ319.
- Co-author (with James M. Allen), âÂÂSeparate Lives: The Ahmose Tempest Stela and the Theran EruptionâÂÂ, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 57.1, January 1998, pp. 1âÂÂ28.
- Editor, âÂÂDiscussionsâÂÂ, Trade, Power and Cultural Exchange: Hyksos Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean World 1800âÂÂ1500 B.C., An International Symposium, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (3 November 1993), ÃÂgypten und Levante 5, 1995, pp. 121âÂÂ132.
- âÂÂThe Nature and Control of Minoan Foreign TradeâÂÂ, Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean, Papers Presented at the Conference held at Rewley House, Oxford (December 1989), Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 90, 1991, pp. 325âÂÂ350.
- âÂÂThe Isles of Crete? The Minoan Thalassocracy RevisitedâÂÂ, Thera and the Aegean World III, Vol. 1, Archaeology, Proceedings of the Third International Congress Held in Santorini, Greece (3âÂÂ9 September 1989), 1990, pp. 128âÂÂ161.
- âÂÂRound-Table CommentsâÂÂ, Aegean Seals, Sealings and Administration, Proceedings of the NEH-Dickson Conference of the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory of the Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin (11âÂÂ13 January 1989), Aegaeum 5, 1990, pp. 236âÂÂ239.
- âÂÂTrade and Rule in Palatial CreteâÂÂ, The Function of the Minoan Palaces, Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens (10âÂÂ16 June 1984), 1987, pp. 261âÂÂ268.
- âÂÂCrete and the Cyclades in LM I: The Tale of the Conical CupsâÂÂ, The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality, Proceedings of the Third International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens (31 MayâÂÂ5 June 1982), 1984, pp. 17âÂÂ26.
Forthcoming publications
- âÂÂLate Bronze Age Aegean Seaports, in Particular NauplioâÂÂ, Festschrift, forthcoming.
- âÂÂMinoan and Cypro-Minoan: âÂÂLinguae Francae?â Festschrift, forthcoming.
- âÂÂKnown Unknowns: Crete Between the Theran Eruption and the Destructions at the End of LM IBâÂÂ, The Meaning of Pax Minoica: Was Evans Right in the Light of New Evidence?, forthcoming.
- âÂÂDating Events and Objects in the Aegean Bronze AgeâÂÂ, Princes of Pylos exhibition catalog, Getty Villa, forthcoming.
See also
References
Sources
External links