Henry Donald McKay (1899–1980) was an American sociologist and criminologist who, along with

Clifford Shaw Clifford Robe Shaw (1895 – 1957) was an American sociologist and criminologist. He was a major figure in the Chicago School of sociology during the 1930s and 1940s, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures in American crimin ...

, helped to establish the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

's Sociology Department as the leading program of its kind in

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He and Shaw were both considered members of the Chicago School of sociology. He also collaborated with Shaw on two highly influential studies on

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

during the 1930s and 1940s. Shaw and McKay also developed

social disorganization theory In sociology, the social disorganization theory is a theory developed by the Chicago School, related to ecological theories. The theory directly links crime rates to neighbourhood ecological characteristics; a core principle of social disorgani ...

in a study published in 1942.

References

1899 births 1980 deaths American criminologists People from Hand County, South Dakota Dakota Wesleyan University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago faculty {{US-sociologist-stub