Howard Spodek

Howard Spodek (November 4, 1941 – August 20, 2023) was an American world historian, a professor of history and geography and urban studies at Temple University. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1963 and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1972; while a graduate student, he visited India as a Fulbright Fellow. He joined the Temple faculty in 1972. As well as his faculty position at Temple, Spodek was the treasurer of the World History Association and a member of the editorial board of History Compass.

Spodek specialized in Indian history, and in particular on the city of Ahmedabad. He was the author of The World's History, a college textbook that is sometimes also used for high school Advanced Placement history courses and that has gone through four editions. He won Temple's Great Teacher Award in 1993.

Howard Spodek was born on November 4, 1941. He was a 1959 graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh.

Howard Spodek died at his home in Philadelphia, on August 20, 2023, at the age of 81.