Origins & Early Life

Alfred Louis Kroeber ( KROH-bər; June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. He played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through 1947.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Kroeber provided detailed information about Ishi, the last surviving member of the Yahi people, whom he studied over a period of years. He was the father of the author Ursula K. Le Guin. Kroeber was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to parents of German Protestant origin. His mother, Johanna Mueller (or Muller), was an American descended from German immigrants after 1848, sister to three brothers, including Hermann (the father of Hermann Joseph Muller) and Otto (the grandfather of Herbert J.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Muller). Kroeber's father, Florenz (or Florence) Friederick Martin Kroeber, came to the United States from Germany at the age of ten, with his parents and family, and became an importer of French clocks as his wife's...

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