Etienne Bernardeau Renaud was born in Billancourt-Bologne, France, on June 14, 1880. In 1913 he became a U.S. citizen. During World War I he was a French military instructor at Fort Logan, Colorado. During World War II, he was the Director of Instruction in Language Studies and a Professor of Special Geography for Aviation. From the early 1920s through the 1930s, Dr. Renaud participated in many archaeological field trips in much of Europe. He was one of the first archaeologists to use a systematic excavation methodology.
Renaud was Professor of Anthropology at the University of Denver beginning in the 1920s. In 1931, he founded the Denver University Museum of Anthropology, known as DUMA. DUMA houses over 150,000 objects from around the world. Following his retirement in 1948 from teaching, Renaud continued to travel, write, and lecture. At the time of his death, it was estimated that he had written 125 scientific articles in English and French. Among his known memberships were Colorado Wyoming Academy of Science; Colorado Archeological Society; Teknik Club; Alpha Zeta Pi; Pi Gamma Mu and Officer Legion of Honor (French).
He died in 1973.
From the guide to the E.B. Renaud letters, 1930-1934, (Denver Museum of Nature & Science, )
