Franz Boas

Boas, Franz (1858–1942), German-born U.S. anthropologist and ethnologist, leader in establishing the cultural-relativist school of anthropology in the English-speaking world. One of the earliest to use statistical methods in his field, he was an authority on Native American languages, the first professor of anthropology at Columbia University (1899–1936), and the author of more than 30 books, including The Mind of Primitive Man (1911) and Anthropology and Modern Life (1928).

See also: Anthropology; Ethnography.