Richard Guy "Rick" Condon (January 16, 1952 – September 7, 1995) 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 ...

who specialized in the study of

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

. He was

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and editor of the international journal, ''

Arctic Anthropology ''Arctic Anthropology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the archaeology, ethnology, and physical anthropology of arctic and subarctic peoples. It is indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index and Current Contents/Social ...

''.

Early years

Condon was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, United States. In 1974, he received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, and in 1981, he received a Ph.D. from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. His dissertation was entitled, ''Inuit behavior and seasonal change: a study of behavioral ecology in the central Canadian Arctic''.

Career

His anthropological research included the people of Holman (

Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok (Kangiryuarmiutun (Inuit language) spelling ''Ulukhaqtuuq'' () and known until 1 April 2006 as ''Holman'' or ''Holman Island'') is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

, Canada), northern Alaska, and

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

. Condon became associate editor for ''

'' in 1989, and worked to translate and publish Russian works in the journal. He was an associate professor at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

from 1992 until his death.

Personal life

Condon married the anthropologist Pamela Rose Stern in 1984. They collaborated on several research projects. Condon and Stern had two daughters, Kimberly and Morgan. He disappeared September 7, 1995, in Chukotka, Russia, and it is presumed he drowned while traveling by boat between

Sireniki Sireniki (russian: Сиреники; Yupik language, Yupik: Сиӷинык, literally ''Mountain of Horns''; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Vutèèn''; Sirenik Eskimo language, Sirenik: ''Sigheneg'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

and

Provideniya Provideniya ( rus, Провиде́ния, p=prəvʲɪˈdʲenʲɪjə; Chukchi: ) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Komsomolskay ...

Partial works

* (1982), ''Inuit natality rhythms in the central Canadian arctic'' * (1983), ''Inuit behavior and seasonal change in the Canadian Arctic'' * (1987), ''Inuit youth : growth and change in the Canadian Arctic'' * (1996), ''The northern Copper Inuit : a history''

References

1952 births 1995 deaths Writers from Plainfield, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Arkansas faculty Anthropology educators 20th-century American anthropologists {{US-anthropologist-stub