Eiseley, Loren C., 1907-1977

Loren Corey Eiseley was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1907. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a B.S. degree in English and geology/anthropology in 1933. He received an A.M. degree in anthropology in 1935 and a Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937. In 1937, Eiseley married Mabel Langdon. The Eiseleys moved to Kansas, then Ohio, then Pennsylvania, where Eiseley held a number of administrative posts at universities. He was active in several professional and academic honor societies including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Anthropological Association, and the Society of American Archaeology. While he was a respected scientist and educator, Loren Eiseley was also an award-winning author and poet. Some of his works include The Immense Journey (1957), Darwin's Century (1958), The Firmament of Time (1960), Notes of an Alchemist (1972), and All The Strange Hours: The Excavation of a Life (1975). Eiseley's works examined evolutionary theory, and combined science and humanism. Eiseley died in 1977.

Correspondence to Lewis Mumford from Loren C. Eiseley and his wife, Mabel Eiseley.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on 3 September 1907, Loren Corey Eiseley attended Lincoln Public Schools and graduated from the University of Nebraska Teachers College High School in 1925. Clyde Eiseley, Loren's father, traveled frequently as a hardware salesman. Loren's mother, Daisey (Corey), deaf since early childhood, had a distant relationship with her son. Loren spent much of his childhood exploring the grasslands, ponds, and creeks near his home. He became interested in anthropology and paleontology at an early age while visiting Morrill Hall, now known as the University of Nebraska State Museum, with his uncle.

Upon graduation from high school, Eiseley worked at several menial jobs before entering college at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. A bout with tuberculosis interrupted his education for a period of time, but Eiseley eventually graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a B.S. degree in English and Geology/Anthropology in 1933. He continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania and received an A.M. degree in Anthropology in 1935 and a Ph.D. in 1937.

In 1937, Eiseley married Mabel Langdon, who was also a graduate of the University of Nebraska. The Eiseley's moved to Kansas where Eiseley started his teaching career as an assistant professor of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Kansas. Eiseley left the University of Kansas in 1944 to become Head of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Oberlin College in Ohio. After three years, he left Ohio and returned to the University of Pennsylvania where he became Chairman of the Department of Anthropology in 1947. Eiseley held that position until 1959 when he accepted the position of Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1961 he stepped down as Provost and became Chairman of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Eiseley remained at the University of Pennsylvania until his death in 1977.

Eiseley was active in several professional and academic honor societies including Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Anthropological Association, and the Society of American Archaeology. Besides being a respected scientist and educator, Loren Eiseley was also an award-winning author and poet. Some of his most influential works include The Immense Journey (1957), Darwin's Century (1958), The Firmament of Time (1960), Notes of an Alchemist (1972), and All The Strange Hours: The Excavation of a Life (1975). Eiseley's works are best known for their examination of evolutionary theory and for their unique combination of science and humanism.

Loren Corey Eiseley died on 9 July 1977 and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.