Datto Vaman Potdar
Indian historian and writer (1890–1979)
Dattatray Vaman Potdar (5 August 1890 – 6 October 1979), better known as Datto Vaman Potdar, was an Indian historian, writer, and orator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of University of Pune from 1961 to 1964.
The British colonial Government of India had honored Potdar with the title Mahamahopadhyaya in 1946. He was honored by government of india with Padmabhushan in 1967. Because of his vast knowledge, he was sometimes called as Dr. Johnson of Maharashtra or a living encyclopedia.
Potdar was a disciple of the historian Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade, and served as a trustee of Pune based Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal (इतिहास संशोधक मंडळ) founded by Rajwade. His disciples included Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, Swami Swaroopanand, Vasudeo Sitaram Bendrey, Sethu Madhav Rao Pagadi, and Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere.
Early life
Potdar was born into Karhade Brahmin family in the village of Birwadi in Raigad District of Maharashtra. Potdar completed his matriculation in 1906 from Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya in Pune, and four years later received a bachelor's degree in History and Marathi from the then University of Bombay affiliated Ferguson college in Pune.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Datto Vaman Potdar” is indian historian and writer (1890–1979). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Datto, Vaman and Potdar, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “indian historian and writer (1890–1979)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55790. VIAF identifies the subject as 13717607. The Library of Congress control number is n84153148. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1890, 1979, 1961 and 1964.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Datto Vaman Potdar”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Datto Vaman Potdar primary sources, Datto Vaman Potdar archive and Datto research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Datto Vaman Potdar”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Datto Vaman Potdar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.