A prominent East Asian historian affiliated with Stanford University died in a San Francisco International Airport bathroom stall, and it took more than 17 hours for someone to find him, according to an autopsy report.

Ming Kou Chan, 69, entered a bathroom at the Cathay Pacific Lounge around 1 a.m. on Oct. 29, according to a report obtained by CBS San Francisco. Chan was scheduled to board a flight to Hong Kong.

One of Chan’s students, who was waiting to pick him up from Hong Kong International Airport, alerted authorities when he never arrived, according to a KTSF report.

The San Mateo County coroner’s office said it wasn’t until 6:20 p.m. that evening that someone found Chan unresponsive in a stall and requested aid from airport staff.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner later determined Chan died of coronary atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries.

An airport spokesman referred The Chronicle to Cathay Pacific for comment.

“Each airline establishes their own procedures for reconciling passengers who have not boarded a flight,” airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.

Chan held a doctorate in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and taught at numerous prestigious colleges during his career, including the University of Hong Kong, UCLA and Oxford, according to an obituary on Stanford’s website. Chan also published three books on Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau history in the last decade.

“He will be greatly missed for his robust intellect; his giving nature, especially regarding his mentorship of countless students; and his spirited interactions,” Stanford officials said.

Gwendolyn Wu is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: gwendolyn.wu@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @gwendolynawu