Bullen, Ripley Pierce, 1902–1976

Ripley Pierce Bullen, also known as Rip Bullen, was born September 21, 1902, in Winthrop, Massachusetts. His parents were Dana Ripley Bullen and Bessie Louise Pierce. He had a humble childhood growing up in the Bay State. Referred to as "Rip" by his childhood friends, a name that would stick with him throughout his life, Bullen was always known for his enthusiasm towards anything that he pursued.

Bullen was Curator Emeritus at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, where he was the Department Chair of Social Sciences for a period of seventeen years (1956–1973). He was an archaeologist primarily associated with the Southeastern United States and Florida, and in his later years he was known as the "dean of Floridian archaeology". He also completed fieldwork in the American Southwest, the New England states, Central America, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.

Bullen met his life partner, Adelaide Kendall, while working in Massachusetts. Adelaide Kendall was a cultural and physical anthropologist. A few years later, in 1929, they married. The couple raised two sons, Dana Ripley II and Pierce Kendall. Bullen was also a grandfather of four. Adelaide Kendall Bullen worked alongside Ripley Bullen on numerous projects including the founding of their publishing company, Kendall Books. She also researched and wrote articles with her husband.

Bullen died on December 25, 1976.