Alexander Francis Chamberlain, 1865-1914

Alexander Francis Chamberlain (January 12, 1865April 8, 1914) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Under the direction of

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

he received the first Ph.D. granted in anthropology in the United States from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. After graduating, he taught at Clark, eventually becoming full professor in 1911. Under the auspices of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

, his area of specialty was the Kootenay (British Columbia) Indians.

Early life and education

Alexander Francis Chamberlain was born in Kenninghall, Norfolk, England, the eldest child of George and Maria Anderton Chamberlain. His family emigrated to North America when he was a child, settling in

Bushnell's Basin, New York Perinton (originally Perrinton (in federal censuses) and sometimes Perrington when still part of Ontario County) is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 46,462 at the 2010 census. The village of Fairport is with ...

, where he began schooling. After about a year, his family relocated to

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

, Canada, where Chamberlain attended the Union School and the Peterborough Collegiate Institute. He then studied modern languages at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, graduating with a B.A. in 1886.

Career

Chamberlain was well known in anthropology for his bibliographic work, compiling the lists of new books and articles that appeared in the early issues of the ''

American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John W ...

'' and later the ''

Journal of American Folklore The ''Journal of American Folklore'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. Since 2003, this has been done on its behalf by the University of Illinois Press. The journal has been published since the society' ...

''. He was editor of the ''Journal of American Folklore'' between 1901 and 1908. His works include: * ''Report on the Kootenay Indians'', (1892) * ''Languages of the Mississaga Indians'', (1892) * ''The Mythology of the Columbian Discovery'', (1893) * ''Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought'', (1896) * ''The Child: A Study in the Evolution of Man'', (1900) * ''Poems'', (1904) He also contributed to the second edition of the

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Intern ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n Indians and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

tic peoples, and to

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n Indians. Chamberlain was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1902.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Alexander Francis 1865 births 1914 deaths Canadian anthropologists Anthropology writers English emigrants to Canada Clark University alumni Clark University faculty Members of the American Antiquarian Society People from Breckland District University of Toronto alumni