Carleton Steven Coon was born June 23, 1904 in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He attended post-secondary education at Harvard University, where he earned his A.B., A.M., and Ph. D. (Coon, 1962). From 1934 to 1948, Coon taught at Harvard, and later that year became an Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania until 1963. He also became Curator of Ethnology at the University Museum in Philadelphia (Coon, 1962). Coon conducted controversial studies of the origins and contemporary variations of human racial types (Britannica, 2000).
Carleton Coon wrote several books during his lifetime. They include The Origins of Race, The Story of Man, Culture Wars and the Global Village: A Diplomat’s Perspective, The Races of Europe, Races: A study of the Problems of Race Formation in Man, The Hunting Peoples, Living Races of Man, Seven Caves: Archaeological Exploration in the Middle East. Others include his autobiography, Adventures and Discoveries: The Autobiography of Carleton S. Coon, Mountains of Giants: A Racial and Cultural Study of the North Albanian Mountain Ghegs, Yengema Cave Report, and Caravan.
During World War II, Coon was a member of the United States Office of Strategic Services. He was a member of the National Academy of Science and served as President of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in 1961-1962(Academic American Encyclopedia,1995).
References:
Academic American Encyclopedia
1995 Vol. 5, p.271. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated.
Coon, Carleton S
1962 The Origins of Races. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Encyclopedia Britannica (1999-2000)
Carleton Coon. Electronic document, http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9026141?query=carlton.html, accessed October 12, 2000.
Written by: Stephanie Bright