Born November 26, 1862,
Budapest, Hungary
Died October 26, 1943,
Kabul, Afghanistan

Sir Aurel Stein spent much of his life investigating the ancient history of central Asia. His greatest find was the “Caves of the Thousand Buddhas” in what was then Chinese Turkestan. A native of Hungary, he became a British citizen in 1904 and was knighted for his work in 1912. Stein’s long career did much to enlighten the world about Asia’s strategic role in the development of world culture.

Goes to India

Mark Aurel Stein was born in Budapest, Hungary, on November 26, 1862. His well-to-do family sent him to schools in Hungary and Germany, where he received his Ph.D. in archaeology in 1883. He went to Oxford University in England for postgraduate studies in 1884; while he was in England, his parents died. In 1888 he accepted a position at Punjab University in Lahore, India, where he...