Schuyler Van Rensselaer Cammann (February 2, 1912, 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 ...

– September 9, 1991, in

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire Sugar Hill is a New England town, town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 563 tabulated in 2010. The ...

) was an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

best known for work in Asia.

Early life

Cammann was born on February 2, 1912, in

. He was the son of Herbert Schuyler Cammann (1884–1965) and Katharine Van Rensselaer Fairfax (1888–1978). His father, a great-grandson of

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

, inventor of the steamboat, was involved in real estate and insurance business he established in 1907. His sister, Katharine Schuyler Cammann, was married to Howard S. Lipson of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. His paternal grandparents were Hermann Henry Cammann (d. 1930), a former trustee of

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 ...

and governor of

New York Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...

, and Ella Crary Cammann. His maternal grandparents were Hamilton Rogers Fairfax, of the Fairfax family of Virginia, and Eleanor Cecilia (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Van Rensselaer) Fairfax of the

Van Rensselaer family The Van Rensselaer family () is a family of Dutch descent that was prominent during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in the area now known as the state of New York. Members of this family played a critical role in the formation of the Unit ...

of New York. His grandmother was the granddaughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer III and Cornelia (née

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

) Van Rensselaer. His maternal uncle was Hamilton Van Rensselaer Fairfax (1891–1955). Cammann attended St. Paul's School on Long Island and

Kent School Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, graduating in 1931."Sill Society Recognizes Four New Inductees in 2010", ''Kent Quarterly'', vol. XXXVI.3, Summer 2010, p. 39. Camman later graduated from

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 ...

with a BA in 1935,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with an MA in 1941, and from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

with a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1949, where he studied under

Owen Lattimore Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of '' Pac ...

Career

From 1935 to 1941 he taught English in the

Yale-in-China The Yale-China Association (), formerly Yale-in-China, is an independent, nonprofit organization based in New Haven, Connecticut which sponsors educational programs in and about China in order to further understanding between Chinese and America ...

program Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, stationed in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and later in

Western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...

and

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

. In 1948, he joined the faculty of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, which was founded by W. Norman Brown in 1931. He remained in the department until his retirement in 1982. From 1948 through 1955, he was the Associate Curator of the East Asian Collections for the

University of Pennsylvania Museum A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. While at the museum, he was a member of excavation teams at

Gordium Gordion ( Phrygian: ; ; or ; ) was the capital city of ancient Phrygia. It was located at the site of modern Yassıhüyük, about southwest of Ankara (capital of Turkey), in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı district. Gordion's location at ...

(the capital city of ancient

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

in modern-day

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) and

Kunduz Kunduz (; ; ) is a city in northern Afghanistan and the capital of Kunduz Province. The city has an estimated population of about 268,893 as of 2015, making it about the List of cities in Afghanistan, seventh largest city of Afghanistan, and the ...

(a city in northern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

). From 1951 until 1955, he was also a panel member for the television show '' What in the World?''. Cammann served as vice-president of the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

and was the editor of the ''

Journal of the American Oriental Society The ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' is a quarterly academic journal published by the American Oriental Society since 1843. The editor in chief is Peri Bearman (Harvard University). He also served as president of the

Philadelphia Anthropological Society Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Oriental Club of Philadelphia, and was a fellow of the American Learned Societies and 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 ...

Legacy

According to the History of Chinese Science and Culture Foundation, Cammann was Cammann was also very interested in

Chinese magic square The Luoshu (pinyin), Lo Shu ( Wade-Giles), or Nine Halls Diagram is an ancient Chinese diagram and named for the Luo River near Luoyang, Henan. The Luoshu appears in myths concerning the invention of writing by Cangjie and other culture heroes. ...

s, which the Foundation further described: Cammann wrote several articles exploring the history of magic squares in China and India.

Personal life

In February 1943, Cammann was married to Marcia de Forest Post at St. John's Chapel of the

Washington Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Was ...

. She was the daughter of Charles Addison Post, of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and Marcia de Forest Post of

Hamilton, Bermuda Hamilton is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and the main settlement of Pembroke Parish. A port city, Hamilton is Bermuda's financial and commercial centre, and a popular tourist destination. Its population of ...

, and granddaughter of Mrs. Isaac Judson Boothe of Providence. Together, they were the parents of five children: Francis Cammann, Stephen Van Rensselaer Cammann, Hamilton Cammann, Elizabeth Cammann, and William Cammann. On December 27, 1980, he married Mary Lyman Muir in Philadelphia. Mary was the widow of John Brinley Muir, a stockbroker, and the daughter of John Lyman Cox, an engineer and inventor. Cammann died in an auto accident on September 9, 1991, near his summer home in

References

External links

Schuyler V. R. Cammann papersMongol Dwellings
(1963) Published in Aspects of Altaic Civilization, Vol. 23 (

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

)
Interchange of East and West
(1959) Published in Asia Perspective (University of Pennsylvania)
The Evolution of Magic Squares in China
(University of Pennsylvania) * Guest expert on the television show "What in the World

* Guest expert on the television show "What in the World"

* Interview, part

* Interview, part

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cammann, Schuyler V. 1912 births 1991 deaths Harvard University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Kent School alumni Schuyler Van Rensselaer Cammann People from Sugar Hill, New Hampshire Social scientists from New York City United States Navy officers University of Pennsylvania faculty Schuyler Van Rensselaer Cammann Yale University alumni 20th-century American anthropologists