Paul Henry Gebhard. Jr. (July 3, 1917 – July 9, 2015) was an American

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 ...

and

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

. Born in

Rocky Ford, Colorado Rocky Ford is a statutory city located in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,957 at the 2010 census. The community was named for a rocky ford near the original town site. Geography Rocky Ford is located at (38.0510 ...

, he earned a BS and a PhD from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Between the years 1946 and 1956, Gebhard was a close colleague to sex researcher

Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Insti ...

. It was acknowledged in Gebhard's ''New York Times'' obituary that Kinsey was in fact his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and that Gebhard was fascinated when Kinsey first met him and revealed to him that the men's room at

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

in New York City was a frequent site for gay cruising. Following Kinsey's death in 1956, Gebhard became the second director of the

Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indi ...

and served in that capacity from 1956 to 1982. In 1953, Gebhard co-authored the second of the two Kinsey Reports, which is known as "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female." He has also claimed that the statistical bias in the data had not materially affected the results of either of the two reports. He joined the Department of Anthropology of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1947, and retired in 1986.

Biography

Paul Gebhard was born to Paul Gebhard, Sr. and Eva Baker, who worked as an elementary schoolteacher. He married and later divorced Agnes West, and was married to Joan Huntington until her death in 2004. Following a brief illness, Gebhard died near his home in Indiana on July 9, 2015, aged 98. He was survived by three children of his first marriage and two stepchildren from his second.

Major works

* ''

Sexual Behavior in the Human Female The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behav ...

'' (1953, co-author) * '' Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion'' (1958) * ''The Kinsey Data: Marginal Tabulations of the 1938-1963 Interviews Conducted by the Institute for Sex Research'' (1979)

In the media

In the 2004 film '' Kinsey'', actor

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

stars as Gebhard.

References

External links

Brief biographical note

* 1917 births 2015 deaths American anthropologists American sexologists Harvard University alumni People from Rocky Ford, Colorado {{US-anthropologist-stub