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Obits
Gregory A. Finnegan (Gregory.A.Finnegan@DARTMOUTH.EDU)
Tue, 31 May 1994 21:01:06 EDT
--- David Wm. Cavers wrote:
From: <CAVERS@SSCL.UWO.CA>
Subject: obituaries of anthropologists
I've been trying to find obituaries for Edvard Westermarck, died 1939, and
Northcote W. Thomas, date of death unknown. I've looked in Man, Folklore
and American Anthropologist and found nothing. Does anyone know where I
might find such obituaries?
--- end of quoted material ---
Westermarck's easy, Thomas is impossible!
There's an entry for EW in the INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES (16:529-31); it lists some articles about him, tho' no obits.
There's also an entry for him (pp. 750-751, by Timothy Stroup) in the
Library-Anthropology Research Group's INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF
ANTHROPOLOGISTS, Christopher Winters, general ed., 1991. It too doesn't list
obits, tho' several works about him are given, whose bibliographies might
pick up obits.
The catalog of Harvard's Tozzer Library (also renowned by its former title of
Peabody Museum Lib.) lists works about an author immediately following those
by the author. Aside from one in a Finnish journal, there're two obits. for
EW: AM.J.OF SOCIOLOGY XLV:452 (1939) and JOURNAL DE LA SOCIETE DES
AFRICANISTES IX:211-212 (1939.)
As for the lamented Northcote Whitridge Thomas, his passing seems to have
been without notice. He's not in either of the LARG publications, the
(wider) "DIRECTORY" or the DICTIONARY. He is not listed in the British WHO
WAS WHO nor the DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY. Tozzer has plenty of his
articles and books, but nothing is listed about him. His entry in the
Library of Congress' Name-Authority File gives only his birthdate (1868),
without a death date. None of the records of his books in the RLIN database
nor the Pre-1956 NATIONAL UNION CATALOG gave a death date. He seems to have
published in the period 1905-1921 or so. 4 of his books were reprinted in
the 1960's by the so-called "Negro Universities Press" project, but that
series literally reprinted works, with NO scholarly apparatus (i.e., NO
intro. about Thomas.) Whether Tozzer was thorough in the 20's about indexing
obits. I can't say, but in principle they should have picked up any. In
desperation one could try histories of anthro., African studies, and folklore
(while the centennial index to the JAF includes three works he edited or
compiled, there's no obit., tho' to be fair I couldn't identify any obits. in
it.) If a death date can be found, there's the LONDON TIMES' index to be
checked. (He didn't make the 1851-1974 NAME INDEX TO THE N Y TIMES INDEX;
assuming he didn't make it past 106, I didn't check the supplement!)
Greg.Finnegan@Dartmouth.edu
Reference-Bibliographer
& Adjunct Assoc. Prof. of Anthro.
Dartmouth College Library
6025 Baker Library, Room 104
Hanover NH 03755-3525
603/646-2833 voice
603/646-2167 fax
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