Ashley Montagu

Ashley Montagu was born in 1905 in London, England. He arrived in the United States in 1927 and became a U.S. citizen in 1940. From Columbia University he earned a Ph.D. in 1937. Since that day he has been active as a teacher, a lecturer, an author and editor (of more than 60 books), and an advocate for many humanitarian causes and campaigns. Acknowledged as one of the world's leading anthropologists, his expertise extends to genetics, paleontology, biology, sociology, and ethnology. Never an ivory-tower author, he consistently addresses the most urgent social and personal concerns. The equality of women, the fallacy of racial prejudices, the touching of infants, the value of intelligence, the possibility of non-aggression, the dangers of war, the meaning of love, the essence of authentic communication, the nurturing of children during childhood -- Montagu's writings and talks have explored, clarified and illuminated all of these complex and controversial realms. Dr. Montagu died November 26, 1999 at 94.