Robert Bennett Bean (March 24, 1874 in

Gala, Virginia Gala is an unincorporated community in Botetourt County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic re ...

BEAN, Robert Bennett
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' (1926 edition); p. 245; via archive.org –1944) was an associate professor of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

and

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

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 d ...

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 university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and remained so until his death.

Life and career

Bean, through his mother, was descended from the

First Families of Virginia The First Families of Virginia, or FFV, are a group of early settler families who became a socially and politically dominant group in the British Colony of Virginia and later the Commonwealth of Virginia. They descend from European colonists who ...

, including colonist and land owner

William Randolph William Randolph I (bapt. 7 November 1650 – 21 April 1711) was an English-born planter, merchant and politician in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia who played an important role in the development of the colony. Born in Moreton Morrell, W ...

. 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 The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(1905–1907), the Philippine Medical School of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

(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 The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ...

in 1919 and was also a regional chairman for 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 ...

(1926).

Works

He is best remembered for his 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 (Virginia) Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery