Firuz Kazemzadeh (Persian: فیروز کاظمزاده; October 27, 1924 – May 17, 2017) was a Russian-born American historian who was professor emeritus of history at Yale University.
After completing his primary and secondary education in Moscow, Kazemzadeh (then aged 16) and his family moved to Iran.
[1] In 1944, during the height of World War II, he travelled from Tehran to the United States and entered Stanford University, graduating with distinction (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1946 and obtaining an MA in 1947.
He was the author and co-author of a number of books on the history of Russia and Iran, as well as numerous articles and reviews for authoritative scholarly publications.
Between May 15, 1998, and May 14, 2003, Kazemzadeh served as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, first appointed to this position in 1998 by President Bill Clinton,[2] and in 2001, reappointed by US Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle.