Lundberg, George Andrew, 1895-1966

Sociologist George A. Lundberg, born at Fairdale, North Dakota in 1895, attended the University of North Dakota (B.A., 1920), the University of Wisconsin (M.A., 1922) and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., 1925). Although he served as an instructor in sociology at the University of Washington between 1925 and 1927, it was not until 1945 that Lundberg returned to Washington as Professor of Sociology and Head of his department, replacing Jesse F. Steiner.

In the intervening years, Lundberg had served as an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh (1927-1929), as Director of Social Research at Columbia University (1930-1934) and as Professor of Sociology and Statistics at Bennington College (1934-1945). Resigning from the departmental chairmanship at Washington (see Lundberg to Woodburne, 26 May 1953, Folder 36/22), Lundberg continued as Professor of Sociology and Statistics (and, from 1961, as Professor Emeritus) until his death in 1966.

Lundberg was a frequent contributor to scholarly journals (see Folders 1/3-4) and the author of major works in his field: Trends in American Sociology, 1929; Social Research, 1929 and 1942; Leisure, 1934; Foundations of Sociology, 1939 and 1964; Sociology, 1954, 1958, 1963 and 1968 and the controversial and widely read Can Science Save Us? (1947 and 1961).

In addition to serving as an editor ( Sociometry, 1940-1945; McKay Social Science Series, 1961-1966), Lundberg was President of the American Sociological Society (1943), the Sociological Research Association (1943 and 1952), the Eastern Sociological Society (1943) and the Pacific Sociological Society (1950). Between 1959 and 1966, Lundberg was a trustee of the American Institute for Economic Research and President of its related organizations, the Behavioral Research Council and the Behavioral Science Council.