WARREN, Henry Clarke. Boston MA 18.11.1854 — Cambridge MA 2/3.1.1899. U.S. Indologist (Buddhist Scholar). Son of Samuel Denis W., a wealthy paper manufacturer, of an old yankee family which came from England in the 17th century, and Susan Cornelia Clarke. As a baby he fell from the carriage and badly injured his back. Educated under private tutors, travelled in Europe and Egypt, interested in botany, chemistry, and aquarium. Studied philosophy under G. H. Palmer at Harvard and became interested in Buddhism. Started Sanskrit at Harvard under Greenough, after A.B. in 1879 continued at Johns Hopkins under Lanman and Bloomfield. In 1884 he went to England and concentrated on Pāli under Rhys Davids. In 1888 a brief period in Southern California. From 1891 until his death lived in Cambridge, Mass.
Warren was a wealthy, but modest, man who led a retiring life. He was a founding member of the P.T.S. and together with Lanman founded the H.O.S. He published rather little, but his papers contained a full critical text of the Visuddhimagga and a third part of the translation. Lanman as his close friend did much to keep alive his memory.
Publications: “Little Kālinga Birthstory”, Providence Journal 27.10.1884 (Warren’s début and apparently the first Pāli transl. published in the U.S.A., the first Jātaka of Fausbøll’s 3rd vol.)
– “On superstitious customs connected with sneezing”, PAOS for 1885 in JAOS 13, 1889, xvii-xx; “Pāli manuscripts in the Brown University Library”, JPTS 1885; “The so-called Chain of Causation of the Buddhists”, PAOS 1893 in JAOS 16, 1896, xxvii-xxx.
– “Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhi-magga”, Tr. of the 9th OC 1892, 1, 362-365; “Table of contents of Buddhaghosa’s V.-m.”, JPTS 1891-93, 76-164; “Report of progress of work upon B.’s V.-m.”, JAOS 16, Proc. 1894, lxvf.
– Buddhism in Translations. Passages selected from the Buddhist Sacred Books and translated. 20+516 p. H.O.S. 3. Cambridge, Mass. 1896.
– Edited: Buddhaghosa: Visuddhimagga. Rev. by Dh. Kosambi. 19+617 p. H.O.S. 41. Cambridge, Mass. 1950.
Sources: Buckland, Dictionary; *C. R. Lanman, JAOS 20, 1899, 332-337; Lanman, “H.C.W.”, Der Rig-Veda. 3. H.O.S. 35. 1951, 407-418 (written in 1918); *H.F. Müller, JRAS 1899, 475-479; Wikipedia with photo photo in Peiris.
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