"Melville Jean Herskovits was a cultural anthropologist, born in Bellefontaine, Ohio. In 1920, following service in France with the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War I, he completed an undergraduate degree in History at the University of Chicago in 1920." Taken from: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana/herskovits.html
"Herskovits turned to the study of Anthropology in 1920 when he began graduate work at Columbia University under Franz Boas. In 1921, he received a Master's degree and began his teaching career at Columbia University. He continued to work with Boas and received his Ph.D. in 1923, with a dissertation entitled The Cattle Complex in East Africa. " Taken from: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana/herskovits.html
He later went on to teach at Northwestern University, (1927 - 63), where he founded the first US University Program in African Studies (1951). He was faced with an inadequate budget and non-conformity on the part of the faculty. The strength and size of the department today is largely the result of the efforts of Melville Herskovits. The Northwestern University Library was named after Melville J. Herskovits.
The influence that Franz Boas had on Herskovits can be seen in his theoretical approach in cultural anthropology. He committed himself to the historical approach as Boas had taught all his students. When Boas started studying the kinship terminologies among the Vandau, Herskovits' interest in African societies sprouted too.
Culture, as seen by Herskovits, was absolutely learned behavior. Every baby born has the potential to adjust equally to any culture. He expounded his theory in Man and His Works (1948) that all standards of judgment are culture-bound.
Written by: Students in an Introduction to Anthropology Class, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota 1999