Born in London, England, on June 23, 1923, Kenny earned five degrees at Oxford University including a doctorate in social anthropology in 1967. In the Second World War, he served in the Mediterranean as an officer in Britain's Indian Army. He and his wife, Laura, had three children: Hal Jose, Ana Pilar, and Michael Patrick. He managed a theater in London's West End, taught at Oxford and in Spain, and joined the faculty of the Catholic University of America in 1959. At CUA, he was Assistant Professor from 1959, Associate Professor from 1962, and Ordinary Professor from 1966. He was a member of the university's President's Advisory Committee on University Planning, chaired Latin American studies committees, and was a trustee of the Consortium of Washington Universities. As the Editor of the Anthropology quarterly, past president of the Washington Anthropological Society, and a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology, Kenny was internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of Ibero-American studies. His A Spanish Tapestry: Town and country in Castile (1961) was widely praised and went through many editions. He also served on grant review boards for the Fulbright program and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was also a university representative to the Upper Northeast Coordinating Council and a soccer coach for the Catholic Youth Organization. He died on January 11, 1986, at Lealand Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.
From the description of The Michael Kenny papers. 1900-1987. (Catholic University of America). WorldCat record id: 123490378
