Johan Thorsten Sellin (26 October 1896 – 17 September 1994) was a

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedes, Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. ...

sociologist at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, a

penologist Penology (from "penal", Latin '' poena'', "punishment" and the Greek suffix ''-logia'', "study of") is a sub-component of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress criminal activities ...

and one of the pioneers of scientific

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

Biography

Sellin was born in

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county (''län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrl ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with his parents when he was 17 years old. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Augustana College in Illinois when he was 19. He went on to receive a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 until becoming Professor Emeritus in 1967. Dr. Sellin came to prominence in the 1920s and 30s for his studies in the use of criminal statistics at local, state, national and international levels. He later helped draft the U.S. Uniform Criminal Statistics Act in 1944. An expert on crime statistics, he advised the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

about statistical matters and was a consultant to the

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

on criminal statistics. He also headed, or was a member of, various

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

panels of experts on criminological questions. Dr. Sellin was a visiting professor or lecturer at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and other universities. Active in international groups, he was secretary-general of the Bern-based International Penal and Penitentiary Commission (later called the

International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation The International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation (IPPF; french: Fondation internationale pénale et pénitentiaire, ) is an international organisation with quasi-governmental status. It promotes studies on crime-prevention and treatment of of ...

) from 1949 to 1951. He was president of the

International Society of Criminology The International Society of Criminology (abbreviated ISC) is an international learned society dedicated to advancing the field of criminology. It describes itself as "the only worldwide organization in the field of criminology and criminal justic ...

from 1956 to 1965. Sellin edited the ''

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor Edmund J. James and drawing from members of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmo ...

'' for 39 years, from 1929 to 1968.''Thorsten Sellin, Criminology Expert'' (New York Times. September 20, 1994)
/ref> Dr. Sellin died in

Gilmanton, New Hampshire Gilmanton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,945 at the 2020 census. Gilmanton includes the villages of Gilmanton Corners and Gilmanton Ironworks. The town became well known in the 1950s after it was ...

at the age of 97.Charlesworth, James C. (1969) "The Academy Dips Its Colors to Dr. Sellin," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' 381: pp. iii-iv

Legacy and honors

*Sellin received numerous honors, including the honorary doctorates of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

universities. *The University of Pennsylvania Sellin Center for Studies in Criminology and Criminal Law is named for him.

Selected works

*''Research Memorandum on Crime in the Depression'' (1937) *''War and Crime: A research memorandum'' (1942) *''The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' (1943) *''Some Current Issues in Penal Treatment'' (1950) *''The significance of records of crime'' (1951) *''The Protective Code: A Swedish Proposal'' (1957) *''The death penalty: A report for the Model penal code project of the American Law Institute'' (1959) *''Constructing an index of delinquency: A manual'' (1963) *''Systems of reporting "crimes known to the police" in selected foreign countries'' (1967) *''The Criminality of Youth'' (1975)

References

Sources

* Wolfgang, Marvin E. (1968) "Thorsten Sellin and the Principal Trends in Modern Penology" in Wolfgang, Marvin E. (ed.) (1968) ''Crime and Culture: Essays in Honor of Thorsten Sellin'' Wiley, New York, pp. 3–10, * Charlesworth, James C. (1969) "The Academy Dips Its Colors to Dr. Sellin" ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' 381: pp. iii-iv * Pastor, Selma (1985) ''A Bibliography of the Publications of Professor Thorsten Sellin'' Center for Studies in Criminology and Criminal Law, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, * Wolfgang, Marvin E. (1996) "Thorsten Sellin (26 October 1896 - 17 September 1994)" ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 140(4): pp. 581–586

External links