Bright, William, 1928-2006

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American linguist William O. Bright studied Native American tongues and worked to preserve the language of California's Karuk tribe. Among the first professors of linguistics at UCLA, he taught at the University for 29 years, retiring in 1988. For 21 years, through 1987, he was editor of Language, the journal of the Linguistic Society of America.

He wrote more than 200 books, articles and reviews, including several dictionaries of Native American languages that were on the brink of disappearing and books on the origin of place names in California and elsewhere. His work preserving the Karuk language, begun at age 21, ultimately led the tribe to make Bright its first honorary member in the days before his death.

From the guide to the William O. Bright Papers, 1950-2000, (American Philosophical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Cartier, Warren A. Missouri. Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee County Federated Library System
referencedIn Ethnological documents of the Department and Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1875-1958 Bancroft Library
referencedIn Morris, Esther McQuigg, 1814-1902. Papers in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1869-1935 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Bright, William, 1928-2006. [Ms. diary kept during the Civil War]. Wake Forest University - ZSR Library, Z. Smith Reynolds Library
creatorOf William O. Bright Papers, 1950-2000 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Stanford University Press archival book copies, 1900-2012 Cecil H. Green Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Dell H. Hymes Papers, 1947-1992 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf De Mille, Richard, 1922-. The Richard De Mille Collection, 1959-1979. University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB Library
referencedIn Rutgers University. Office of the President. Records of the John Martin Thomas Administration, 1902-1932, 1925-1930 (bulk). Rutgers University
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith De Mille, Richard, 1922- person
associatedWith Hymes, Dell H. person
associatedWith Morris, Esther McQuigg, 1814-1902. person
associatedWith Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology corporateBody
associatedWith Rutgers University. Office of the President. corporateBody
associatedWith Stanford University. Press. corporateBody
associatedWith University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Anthropology corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Subject
Karok language
Karuk Indians
Native American linguistics
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1928-08-13

Death 2006-10-15

Americans

English

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