Ba Maw
A Burmese nationalist who navigated Japanese occupation to pursue independence, becoming the first head of state under contentious circumstances.
1893–1977 (age 84)·Burmese leader and independence activist·Birthday: February 8·The Lost Generation
Biography
In the turbulent theater of 20th-century Burma, Ba Maw carved a path defined by intellectual fervor and political pragmatism. Educated at Cambridge and Bordeaux, he returned home not as a colonial bureaucrat but as a barrister whose first major case defiantly defended the rebel leader Saya San. His election as Prime Minister in 1937 made him the first Burmese leader under British rule, but his vision for full sovereignty led him down a perilous road. During World War II, he accepted Japanese patronage to head the State of Burma, a collaboration he viewed as a necessary step toward self-rule. While this alliance with the Axis powers forever stained his legacy in some accounts, his post-war imprisonment and enduring advocacy for a federal union revealed a man consistently, if controversially, dedicated to a Burma free from external control.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Ba was born in 1893, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ba Was Born
The biggest hits of 1893
Ba's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1893Born
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Started school
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1906Became a teenager
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Could drive
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1911Could vote
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Turned 21
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 30
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1933Turned 40
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 50
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 60
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1963Turned 70
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 80
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1977Died at 84
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
Key Achievements
- Served as the first Prime Minister of Burma under British colonial rule from 1937 to 1939.
- Became the Head of State of the Japanese-backed State of Burma during World War II.
- Founded the Maha Bama Party, a significant pre-war nationalist political organization.
- Authored 'Breakthrough in Burma', a memoir detailing his political experiences and philosophy.
Did You Know?
He earned a Doctorate of Literature from the University of Bordeaux, writing his thesis on aspects of Buddhism.
Ba Maw was defended in a post-war treason trial by the later Burmese independence hero, Aung San.
He designed his own distinctive headgear, a tan-colored *gaung baung*, which became his personal trademark.
After the 1962 military coup, he spent his final years under house arrest.
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