Peter Farb (1929–1980) was an American author, anthropologist, linguist and naturalist.Pyan, Gabrielle. 2003

Biography

Farb was born July 25, 1929, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Solomon and Cecelia Farb. In 1950, he graduated ''magna cum laude'' from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

graduate school from 1950 to 1951. He married museum director and painter Oriole Horch in 1953, and together they had two sons, Mark Daniel and Thomas Forest. Peter Farb was a freelance writer in the areas of the natural and human sciences for many years, authoring many acclaimed books, including several books for young readers, and columns in national magazines such as '' Better Homes and Gardens'' and ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

''. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

's Secretary of the Interior,

Stewart Udall Stewart Lee Udall (January 31, 1920 – March 20, 2010) was an American politician and later, a federal government official who belonged to the Democratic Party. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary ...

, described him as "one of the finest conservation spokesmen of our period". He was a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. Farb died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on April 8, 1980, in

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Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. At the time of his death, he had been working with

Irven DeVore Irven DeVore (October 7, 1934 – September 23, 2014) was an anthropologist and evolutionary biologist, and Curator of Primatology at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. He headed Harvard's Department of Anthropolo ...

on a new book, ''The Human Experience: A Textbook of Anthropology''.

Dates of interest

1950–1952: '' Argosy Magazine'' feature editor 1960–1961: editor-in-chief of the publishing agent Panorama until the project sponsored by the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

ended. 1964–1971: Curator for American Indian Cultures,

Riverside Museum The Riverside Museum (replacing the preceding Glasgow Museum of Transport) is a museum in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, housed in a building designed by Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects, with its River Clyde frontage at the new Point ...

, New York, N.Y. 1971:

National Book Awards The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

Committee Judge 1971–1972: visiting lecturer,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

1971–1978: Fellow of

Calhoun College Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges endowed by Edward Harkness. It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President Jo ...

, Yale University 1976:

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

Libraries Trustee 1966–1971: Consultant to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, Washington D.C.

Books

#1959: ''Living Earth''Library of Congress Online Catalog
Control No:79000366 #1959: ''The Insect World'' #1959: ''The Story of Butterflies and Other Insects'' (children's book) #1961: ''The Story of Dams'' (children's book) #1962: ''The Story of Life: Plants and Animals Through the Ages'' #1962, 1977 (2nd Ed.): ''The Insects'' (Series: LIFE Nature Library) #1963, 1979 (Revised Ed.): ''Ecology'' (Series: LIFE Nature Library) #1964: ''The Face of North America'' (Young Reader's Edition) #1964, 1978 (2nd Ed.): ''The Land and Wildlife of North America'' (Series: LIFE Nature Library) #1964: ''Face of America: The Natural History of a Continent'' (selected for the ''

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

'' and became extremely popular. Added to President

's International White House Library, whereby President Kennedy presented it to the heads of a hundred foreign governments). #1966: ''The Atlantic Shore: Human and Natural History from Long Island to Labrador'' by Peter Farb and John Hay #1967: ''The Land, Wildlife, and Peoples of the Bible'' (children's book) #1968: ''Man's Rise to Civilization As Shown by the Indians of North America from Primeval Times to the Coming of the Industrial State'' #1970: ''Yankee Doodle'' #1973: ''Word Play: What Happens when People Talk'' (selected for the ''

'') . #1978 (2nd Ed.): ''Man's Rise to Civilization: The Cultural Ascent of the Indians of North America'' #1978: ''The Forest'' (Series: LIFE Science Library) #1978: ''Humankind'' #1980: ''Consuming Passions - The Anthropology of Eating'' by Peter Farb & George J. Armelagos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farb, Peter American ecologists 1929 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American anthropologists 20th-century American linguists 20th-century American naturalists