Franz Boas

Born: 9-Jul-1858 Birthplace: Minden, Germany Died: 22-Dec-1942 Location of death: New York City Cause of death: unspecified Remains: Buried, Dale Cemetery, Ossining, NY Gender: Male Religion: Jewish Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Anthropologist Nationality: United States Executive summary: Father of American Anthropology Franz Boas is considered both the founder of modern anthropology as well as the father of American Anthropology. It was Boas who gave modern anthropology its rigorous scientific methodology, patterned after the natural sciences, and it was Boas who originated the notion of "culture" as learned behaviors. His emphasis on research first, followed by generalizations, stood in marked contrast to the British school of anthropology which emphasized the creation of grand theories (which were only after tested through field work). As a teacher, principally at Columbia University, he served as mentor to many of the top names in American anthropology, including such luminaries as Alfred Kroeber, Ruth Benedict,Margaret Mead, Robert Lowie, and Edward Sapir. Many of these went on to found, or profoundly influence, departments of anthropology at other universities. Boas further extended his influence through such important works as The Mind of Primitive Man (1911), Anthropology and Modern Life (1928), and Kwakiutl Ethnography (1966).