Farabee, William Curtis, 1865-1925

William Curtis Farabee was born in 1865 and was the second candidate to receive a Ph.D. in physical anthropology at Harvard. Although Farabee is more widely known as an anthropologist and ethnographer, he also studied human genetics under William E. Castle while at Harvard. His dissertation, Hereditary and Sexual Influences in Meristic Variation: A Study of Digital Malformations in Man, discussed the disorder brachydactyly, and was eventually published in 1903.

Dr. Farabee embarked on three trips to South America as a researcher for the Peabody Museum at Harvard and the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum). From 1906-1908, he led the De Milhau-Harvard expedition; his findings were published in 1922 as Indian Tribes of Eastern Peru.

From 1913-1916, Dr. Farabee launched a second expedition which was sponsored by the Penn Museum. During this trip, he explored areas in the Amazon Basin: the Guiana Highlands, the Ucayali River, the island of Marajó , and an area between the Tapajóz and Xingú Rivers. Farabee noted the location of many archaeological sites and many of the artifacts he found were sent to the Penn Museum. The results of this expedition were published as part of a series for the Penn Museum, Philadelphia. In 1918, The Central Arawaks was published, and The Central Caribs was released in 1924.

In 1917, Dr. Farabee served as the Secretary for the Proceedings of the annual meeting for the American Anthropological Association while Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer was called to military service during World War I. In 1918, Farabee traveled to Paris and served as ethnographer for the American Commission to Negotiate Peace.

In addition to the works listed above, Dr. Farabee published his findings in the Museum Journal and Geographic Review. Eventually, he was appointed Curator of the American Section of the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

As a result of his South American expeditions, Dr. William Curtis Farabee developed pernicious anemia (a vitamin B12 deficiency); he died on June 24, 1925 in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Sources: Farabee, William Curtis. "Anthropology at the Philadelphia Meeting with Proceedings of the American Anthropological Association for 1917." American Anthropologist, New Series 20, no. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1918): 79-86. "Obituary: William Curtis Farabee." Geographical Review 15, no. 4 (Oct. 1925): p. 675.

From the guide to the Farabee, William Curtis, (1865-1925)., Collection of Negatives, 1902-1909, (Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University)