Franz Boas

@Miscellaneous, Life Achievements and Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist who is known as the ‘pioneer of modern anthropology’ Cancer Celebrities American Intellectuals & Academics Anthropologists Miscellaneous Famous as the ‘the Father of Modern Anthropology’, Franz Boas was an important figure in 20thy century anthropology. He played a key role in organising the American Anthropological Association and made contributions in the field of physical anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, as well as cultural anthropology. He argued against the theories that distinguished people on the basis of race and discredited the belief that western civilisation is superior to the other societies. He was also a prolific writer; some of his well-known books in the field of anthropology include ‘The Mind of Primitive Man’, ’Anthropology and Modern Life’ and ‘Kwakiutl Ethnography’. Throughout his life he spoke out against racism and advocated the need for intellectual freedom and worked to protect German and Austrian scientists who fled from the Nazi regime. He was responsible for establishing folklore as a field of study in anthropology and also made a major contribution to the field of linguistics. To him goes the credit of establishing it as a science in America. He continues to influence many scholars and researchers in all the fields of anthropology.

Personal Details

Birthday: July 9, 1858 Died on: December 21, 1942 Nationality: American Famous: Intellectuals & Academics, Anthropologists, Miscellaneous Birth Place: Minden, Westphalia, Germany Gender: Male Sun Sign: Cancer Information Detail Birthday July 9, 1858 Died on December 21, 1942 Nationality American Famous Intellectuals & Academics, Anthropologists, Miscellaneous Birth Place Minden, Westphalia, Germany Gender Male Sun Sign Cancer Born in Minden, Westphalia, Germany Famous as Anthropologist Died at Age 84

Minden, Westphalia, Germany

Franz Boas born at Unsplash Birth Place

In 1887, he married Marie Krackowizer in New York. The couple had six children together. Unsplash Personal Life

He died at the age of 84 after he suffered a major stroke at the Columbia University Faculty Club, New York. Unsplash Personal Life

Franz Uri Boas was born in Minden, Westphalia, Germany, into a Jewish family. His parents were well-educated, liberal and socialized among the elite members of German society. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

From an early age, his parents encouraged him to think independently and pursue his interests. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He exhibited a keen interest in nature and natural sciences from the age of 5 and studied natural history and the geographic distribution of planets at school. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He attended the University of Heidelberg for a brief period of time after which he attended the University of Kiel, where he earned a Ph.D. in Physics and a minor in Geography. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1883, he went on a scientific mission to Baffin Islands, Canada, where he studied the ‘Inuit’ culture, collected ethnographic data and became interested in life of the people on the island. Unsplash Career

In 1885, he worked with Rudolf Virchow (physical anthropologist) and Adolf Bastian (ethnologist) at the Royal Ethnological Museum, Berlin and also taught geography at the University of Berlin. Unsplash Career

In 1887, he went to New York City and took up the post of an assistant editor for a ‘Science’ magazine and also taught anthropology at the Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Unsplash Career

In 1888, his first monograph ‘The Central Eskimo’, an account of the ‘domestic occupation and amusements’ of the people in Baffin Islands, was published in the 6th Annual Report in the Bureau of American Ethnology. Unsplash Career

In 1889, he was appointed as the head of the Department of Anthropology at Clark University, after which he went on a series of scientific expeditions to illuminate ‘Asaistic-American relations’. Unsplash Career

His 1911 publication ‘The Mind of Primitive Man’ is one of his seminal works which is considered an important work in cultural anthropology and cultural relativism. This book laid the foundation for further studies on anthropology and is used for academic purposes. Unsplash Major Work

Information	Detail
Birthday	July 9, 1858
Died on	December 21, 1942
Nationality	American
Famous	Intellectuals & Academics, Anthropologists, Miscellaneous
Birth Place	Minden, Westphalia, Germany
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Cancer
Born in	Minden, Westphalia, Germany
Famous as	Anthropologist
Died at Age	84

Franz Boas

American

Jul 9, 1858

Biography

Personal Details

Minden, Westphalia, Germany