Luther Paul Gerlach was born on 25 October 1930 in Reading, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. in 1952 from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. in 1961 from the University of London. From 1961 to 1963, Dr. Gerlach was an assistant professor of anthropology and sociology at Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsylvania). He joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1963 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 1965 and to professor in 1971. Dr. Gerlach's specialties are in the fields of economic anthropology, socio-cultural change, human ecology and anthropology of social and religious movements.
From the guide to the Luther P. Gerlach papers, 1968-1979, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University of Minnesota Archives [uarc])
