Franz Boas Papers 1862-1942

ArchivalResource

Franz Boas Papers 1862-1942

During the half century leading up to the Second World War, Franz Boas helped to define academic anthropology in the United States. Trained as a geographer at the University of Heidelberg, Boas worked initially on the Inuit of Baffin Island and subsequently on the cultures of the Indians of the Northwest Pacific Coast, becoming a leading figure in American anthropology by the first decade of the twentieth century. As Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University, Boas made significant theoretical contributions to ethnology, linguistics, and physical anthropology, helping to ingrain the four fields approach in his discipline and introducing the concept of cultural relativism into wide currency. He was, as well, a committed Socialist and an ardent opponent of both racism and fascism. This collection includes correspondence that Boas carried on with his colleagues in anthropology, as well as with those in the other social sciences and sciences. This correspondence is rich as a source for twentieth-century historians interested in "radical" social causes, since Boas was a socialist and an outspoken voice for progressive social causes.

59.0 Linear feet

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6631426

Related Entities

There are 63 Entities related to this resource.

Boas, Franz, 1858-1942

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6039fsz (person)

Born in Minden, Germany, on July 8, 1858, the anthropologist Franz Boas was the son of the merchant Meier Boas and his wife, Sophie Meyer. Raised in the radical and tradition of German Judaism, Franz's youth was steeped in politically liberal beliefs and a largely secular outlook that he carried with him from university through his emigration to the United States. At the universities of Heidelberg and Bonn, Boas studied physics and geography before completin...

Engerrand, George C., 1877-1961.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vf0m66 (person)

Heliotype Co.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63p4sjv (person)

Michelson, Truman, 1879-1938

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w12tnf (person)

Swanton, John Reed, 1873-1958

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h72hfp (person)

Tozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston), 1877-1954

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65m6kfq (person)

Tozzer graduated from Harvard in 1900, and taught anthropology and archaeology at Harvard. From the description of Papers of Alfred Marston Tozzer, 1908-1937 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76973202 Alfred Marston Tozzer was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on July 4, 1877 to Samuel Clarence Tozzer and Caroline Blanchard (Marston) Tozzer. He grew up in Lynn and after graduating from high school attended Harvard College where he received degrees...

Steinen, Karl ˜von denœ 1855-1929

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hf1gsf (person)

Rockwood, J. R.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz62g9 (person)

Cajetan, L.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62w53dx (person)

Boas, Ernst P. (Ernst Philip), 1891-1955

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wq067r (person)

Ernst Boas was the son of anthropologist Franz Boas, and as a physician was noted for his work in cardiology. He was also very much involved with liberal social causes. Boas was an instructor in pathology and physiology, an expert in chronic diseases, and a developer of the cardiotachometer. He was prominent in the American Medical Association during the 1940s and 50s, actively promoted National Health Insurance, and was an organizer of the Physicians Forum. From the description of R...

Andrews, H. A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62g190c (person)

Sapir, Edward, 1884-1939

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gt5qdd (person)

American anthropologist and linguist. From the description of Yana field notes: holographs, 1907. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 227536942 ...

Franchtenberg, Leo Joachim, 1883-1930

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t85663 (person)

Dixon, Roland Burrage, 1875-1934

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dv24pj (person)

Fackenthal, Frank Diehl, 1883-1968

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bp18xm (person)

University administrator. From the description of Reminiscences of Frank Diehl Fackenthal : oral history, 1956. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309733041 ...

Laufs, Toni

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mt6gd4 (person)

Sweers, M.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r62ccz (person)

Wenzel, Theodor

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tc3v5s (person)

Hering, Ernst, 1888-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q07xsg (person)

Gunther, Carl

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vn1tt6 (person)

Becker and Maass

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x769b3 (person)

Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65t3m3k (person)

Epithet: President of Columbia University British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000696.0x000180 Butler was a philosopher, diplomat, and educator; president of Columbia University from 1901-1942. From the description of Nicholas Murray Butler letter, 1942 Mar. 16. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 777002021 President of Columbia University. From the description of Letters to F.W. Wile and...

Britton, Nathaniel Lord, 1859-1934

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60v8pd4 (person)

Nathaniel Britton worked on plant varieties from Central and South America. Smithsonian Institution Archives Field Book Project: Person : Description : rid_170_pid_EACP167 Nathaniel Lord Britton (1857-1934) was a leading founder and first Director of the New York Botanical Garden. He was born at New Dorp, Staten Island, N.Y. He received his Ph.D. in Geology from Columbia College in 1881 where he studied with John Strong Newberry. In 1886 he was named Professor of Geology and...

Hrdlička, Alěs 1869-1943

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68g8p0f (person)

Ales Hrdlicka was born in Bohemia and came to America in 1882. He received an M.D. degree from the New York Eclectic College (1892) and graduated from the New York Homeopathic College (1894). He also studied medicine and anthropology at the Sorbonne. Dr. Hrdlicka was assistant curator (1903-1910) and curator (1910-1943) of the Division of Physical Anthropology at the National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. He led numerous anthropological expeditions and did extensive research on prehisto...

Sargent, H. E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6041f6n (person)

Chávez, Ezequiel A. 1868-1946

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68h276t (person)

Crane, M. E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j71407 (person)

Bogoras, Waldemar, 1865-1936

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn0cqp (person)

Waldemar Bogoras (1865-1936) was an ethnographer and writer. From the description of Waldemar Bogoras papers, 1901. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122597901 From the guide to the Waldemar Bogoras papers, 1901, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.) ...

Rice, F. H.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h25p44 (person)

Beckwith, Martha Warren, 1871-1959

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66d615r (person)

Laufer, Berthold, 1874-1934

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62n5sbw (person)

Ethnologist. Laufer was an Assistant in Ethnology in the Dept. of Anthropology, American Museum of Anthropology. He made several important collecting trips. From the description of Papers, 1898-1905. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155511772 ...

Cattell, James McKeen, 1860-1944

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ff429q (person)

Rufus Ivory Cole served as the the director and physician-in-charge (1909-1937) of the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the first hospital in the United States devoted primarily to the investigation of disease. Cole's medical research centered on problems relating to immunity to diseases of the respiratory system, particularly pneumonia From the guide to the Rufus Ivory Cole papers, ca. 1900-1966, 1900-1966, (American Philosophical Society) Cattell...

Bishop, Giles

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66b9sc0 (person)

Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kh0qs8 (person)

Participated in Hayden Geological Survey. Named six Colorado mountains. From the description of Explorations in the Rocky Mountains, 1872-1887, [1932?]. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 16905051 William Henry Holmes, archaeologist and artist, served as chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution from 1902-1920. From the description of Letter : Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, to My dear Mr. [E.A.] Bur...

Goldstein, Emma

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pt0kbt (person)

Keppel, Frederick P. (Frederick Paul), 1875-1943

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sj1nb6 (person)

Frederick Keppel was Carl Zigrosser's dean at Columbia University. Keppel took a personal interest in Zigrosser, and their letters cover Zigrosser's employment at Keppel & Co., Zigrosser's stand on conscientious objection during World War I (Keppel was with the War Department at the time), print purchases made by Keppel while he was with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Zigrosser's books. Included is a 1924 etching by Kerr Eby for Keppel & Co. From the description of...

Beynon, William, 1888-1958

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h13kbg (person)

Born to a Welsh father and Niska mother of high status, William Beynon was raised in Victoria, B.C., speaking both Niska and English. A member of the Wolf (Laxgibu) phratry, Beynon was schooled in some of the traditional responsibilities of a hereditary Tsimshian chief, however he later wrote that when he first traveled to Prince Rupert in 1914 to perform rites associated with the funeral of his maternal uncle, a chief of the wolf phratry, he felt that he was insufficiently knowledg...

Germanistic Society of America

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6712sxq (corporateBody)

Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews, 1874-1941

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61263kz (person)

Elsie Clews Parsons was a sociologist, anthropologist, and folklorist. From the description of Papers, [ca. 1882]-1978. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122380114 From the description of Isleta sketches, [n.d.]. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 86138573 From the description of Papers, 1835-1944. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122589249 Anthropologist. From t...

Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x34xcv (person)

Frederick Webb Hodge was an ethnographer, archaeologist, editor and museum director. Hodge's first exposure to archaeology was as secretary of the Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition. When the project was over he returned to work at the Bureau of American Ethnology as Librarian. His work as editor began with the revitalization of the American Anthropologist and carried through his 2 vol. set of the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, to the famous 20 vol. set by Edward S. C...

Teit, James Alexander, 1864-1922

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d82zw9 (person)

Woodbridge, Frederick James Eugene, 1867-1940

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hq46wc (person)

Philosopher. Served on the faculty of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, 1894-1902, and Columbia University, 1902-1939. His writings cover a broad range of subjects including history, literature, science, religion, and philosophy with emphasis on aesthetics, ethics, and metaphysics. From the description of Papers, 1884-1950. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122571601 ...

Susman, Amelia L.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nb00vc (person)

Radin, Paul, 1883-1959

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65d8trb (person)

Dr. Paul Radin is considered to be one of the formative influences in contemporary anthropology and ethnography in the United States and Europe. He was born in Lodz (Russian Poland) on April 2, 1883, the son of a reform rabbi and scholar. In 1884, his family moved to Elmira, New York, and then to New York City in 1890. Educated in the public school system, Radin entered the College of the City of New York as a sub-freshman at the age of fourteen, graduating in 1902. After a brief stint in gradua...

Fechner, Wilh.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m45jqq (person)

Korber v. Freytag

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h833mp (person)

Jochelson, Waldemar, 1855-1937

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pk26vb (person)

Russian ethnologist and linguist noted for his studies on Siberian peoples, especially the Koryaks and Yukaghirs. Led the Siberian Division of the American Museum of Natural History's Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1900-1902). From the description of Papers [microform]. (American Museum of Natural History). WorldCat record id: 18538920 Waldemar Jochelson (Vladimir Il'ich Iokhel'son, 1855-1937), Russian anthropologist, was in the Aleutians for eighteen months in 1909-1910: U...

Naegeli

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62k923w (person)

Seler, Eduard, 1849-1922

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d51bb8 (person)

Seler was born in Crossen an der Oder, Prussia, on Dec. 5, 1849; attended Joachimsthalsche Gymnasium, Berlin, 1863-1869; attended Univ. of Breslau before serving a year of military duty in 1870-71 during the Franco-Prussian War; returned to his studies at Univ. of Berlin in 1871 and passed his Oberlehrer examination in 1875; taught science and mathematics until he was forced to resign because of poor health in 1879; moved to Trieste and began studying linguistics, and his interest in Pre-Columbi...

Bogardus, A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62h09c8 (person)

Haack, Friedrich

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g86364 (person)

Bowditch, Charles P. (Charles Pickering), 1842-1921

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ks713f (person)

Charles Pickering Bowditch (born September 30, 1842; died June 1, 1921), was an early initiator and supporter of Meso and Central American research at the Peabody Museum. His interest in Maya studies was sparked by a pleasure trip to the Yucatan in 1888. Bowditch received both his A.B. (1863) and his M.A. (1866) from Harvard University. He was a leading member of the Museum's Committee for Central American Researchers from 1891 until his death. Bowditch joined the Department of Anth...

Stucken, Ferd.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61s9bsx (person)

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pg1x0d (person)

George Heye was the President of the Museum of the American Indian. From the description of Letters to George and Thea Heye from Lorenzo Chavez and other Zuni Pueblo Indians, 1916-1930. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 64063650 ...

Smith

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fk2fg4 (person)

Epithet: of Chepstow British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001199.0x00013e Epithet: Peace Officer, Dublin British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001199.0x000153 Epithet: of Sloane MS 3914 British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001199.0x000151 Epithet: Colonel ...

McGee, W. J., 1853-1912

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6np2z39 (person)

Geologist, anthropologist, and hydrologist. From the description of Papers of W. J. McGee, 1822-1916. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78067600 Biographical Note 1853, Apr. 17 Born near Farley, Iowa 1878 1882 Made surveys of the geology of Iowa...

Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6k46hrt (person)

Alfred L. Kroeber was an anthropologist. He taught anthropology at the University of California, 1901-1946, and was curator, 1908-1925, and director, 1925-1946, of the University's anthropological museum. From the description of Yana vocabulary and grammatical notes, 1911-1912. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 86165433 Anthropologist. From the description of Anthropology : mss., 1948. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 85185772 A...

Bumpus, Hermon C. (Hermon Carey), 1862-1943

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6805hnx (person)

Schmidt and Wegener

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65n8t1b (person)

Wissler, Clark, 1870-1947

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j38v40 (person)

Chow, Yucho

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x47m14 (person)

Hulsenbeck, J.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s30rfx (person)

Gordon, George Byron, 1911-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6711p2w (person)