Weidenreich, Franz, 1873-1948

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Exist Dates

June 7, 1873 - July 11, 1948

Biographical or Historical Note

Franz Weidenreich was a German-born anthropologist who became a research associate in the Dept. of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History. Weidenreich studied zoology and medicine, receiving his medical degree from the University of Strasbourg in 1899 and becoming professor of anatomy. His scholarly work focused on human blood and the lymph system, but his interests broadened as he explored the connections of hematology with other human systems: first osteology, in which he published several works on dentition, and an influential paper on the evolution of the human foot; then physical anthropology and eventually, human evolution and the search for human origins. Forced out of Germany by the Nazis, Weidenreich became a visiting professor of anatomy and anthropology at the University of Chicago. In 1935, Weidenreich went to China, where he continued the work of Davidson Black in excavating the remains of Peking man. Under his direction, a series of skulls was exhumed for study. In 1941, after the Japanese invasion of China, Weidenreich came to the AMNH. He left unfinished his work on Java man, the series of fossil skulls discovered by G.H.R. von Koenigswald.

Sources

    Library of Congress Name Authority File
    From biographical note for Weidenreich's archive collection at the AMNH Library, Mss .W445, written by Ann Herendeen.

Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History
associated dates: 1941-1948
American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology
associated dates: 1941-1948

Related Resources

Franz Weidenreich collection, 1910-1948 (bulk 1935-1948)
Repository: AMNH Special Collections, Mss .W445

Written by: Iris Lee
Last modified: 2018 October 5


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