Robert Bennett Bean (1874–1944) was an associate professor of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

adept to

craniometry Craniometry is measurement of the cranium (the main part of the skull), usually the human cranium. It is a subset of cephalometry, measurement of the head, which in humans is a subset of anthropometry, measurement of the human body. It is dis ...

and the concept of "race", whose scientific work was discredited by his mentor but who nonetheless became a professor at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and remained so until his death.

Life and career

Bean, through his mother, was descended from the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...

, including colonist and land owner

William Randolph William Randolph I (bapt. 7 November 1650 – 11 April 1711) was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia who played an important role in the development of the colony. Born in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, Randolph moved to th ...

. He studied medicine and anatomy and obtained a B.S. in medicine, followed by an M.D. in anatomy in 1904.

Career

Bean became a professor of anatomy at numerous universities, including the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1905–1907), the Philippine Medical School of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

(1908) and the Tulane University of Louisiana (1910–1916). In 1916 he accepted a position as an associate professor at the

and remained so until his death. He became the councilor of the American Anthropological Association in 1919 and was also a regional chairman for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1926). He is buried at the University of Virginia cemetery.

Works

He is best remembered for his racist ethnological work ''The Races of Man'' (1932)."Robert Bennett Bean", 1874-1944, R. J. Terry, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 48, No. 1, Jan. - Mar., 1946, pp. 70-74.

Books

*''Racial Anatomy of the Philippine Islanders'' (1910) *''The Races of Man. Differentiation and Dispersal of Man'' (1932, 2nd Ed. 1935) *''The Peopling of Virginia'' (1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Robert Bennett 1874 births 1944 deaths American ethnologists American anatomists University of Michigan faculty Tulane University faculty University of Virginia faculty Randolph family of Virginia Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery