Richard Cottam

Richard Cottam
Born	1 October 1924 Provo, Utah, US
Died	29 August 1997(1997-08-29) (aged 72) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Nationality	American
Other names	Dick Cottam
Alma mater	University of Utah Harvard University
Spouse	Patricia Cottam
Children	2 daughters and 2 sons
Espionage activity
Country	United States
Agency	Central Intelligence Agency
Service years	1953–1958
Military career
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1941–1948
Battles / wars	World War II
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Pittsburgh
Thesis	Iran: A Case Study of Nationalism (1954)
Doctoral advisor	Rupert Emerson
Other academic advisors	Richard N. Frye

Richard W. Cottam (1924–1997) was an American political scientist, Iranist and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative in Iran.

Cottam was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission for the Church. He was in the United States Navy during World War II.

References

• Akhavi, Shahrough (1997), "In Memoriam: Richard Cottam" (PDF), MESA Bulletin, 31 (2), Middle East Studies Association: 203–205, doi:10.1017/S0026318400035987, JSTOR 23061466
• Gasiorowski, Mark J. (1997), "Obituaries: Richard W. Cottam (1924-1997)", Iranian Studies, 30 (3/4), International Society for Iranian Studies: 415–417, doi:10.1017/S002108620001183X, JSTOR 4311109, S2CID 245661724
• Siavoshi, Susan (15 August 2006), "COTTAM, Richard", Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.), ISSN 2330-4804