Walter Rochs Goldschmidt (February 24, 1913 – September 1, 2010) was an American anthropologist. Goldschmidt was of German descent, born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, on February 24, 1913, to Hermann and Gretchen Goldschmidt. He earned a bachelor's degree at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in 1933, followed by a master's degree in 1935. Goldschmidt completed doctoral studies in 1942 at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Goldschmidt began work at the

Bureau of Agricultural Economics The Economic Research Service (ERS) is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States. It provides information and research on agriculture and eco ...

, remaining a social science analyst there until 1946, when he joined the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

faculty. He served as editor of the journal ''

American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal 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 m ...

'' from 1956 to 1959, and was founding editor of another journal, ''

Ethos ''Ethos'' is a Greek word meaning 'character' that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the ...

''. Between 1969 and 1970, Goldschmidt was president of the

American Ethnological Society The American Ethnological Society (AES) is the oldest professional anthropological association in the United States. History of the American Ethnological Society Albert Gallatin and John Russell Bartlett founded the American Ethnological Societ ...

. He headed 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 1976. Goldschmidt was known for his research into the

Hupa The Hupa (Yurok: / 'Hupa people') are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is for Hupa-language speakers in general, and for residents of Hoopa Valley, also sp ...

and

Nomlaki The Nomlaki (also Noamlakee, Central Wintu, Nomelaki) are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Today some Nomlaki people are enrolled in the federally recogniz ...

indigenous people living in California, as well as the

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

and

Haida Haida may refer to: Haida people Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. * Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada) ** Council of the Haida Nati ...

of Alaska. In his later career, Goldschmidt took an interest to the

Sebei people The Sebei are a Southern Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting western Kenya, eastern Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak Kupsabiny, a Kalenjin language. The Sapiiny occupy three districts, namely Bukwo ...

in Uganda. He was twice a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

and received the Bronislaw Malinowski Award. Goldschmidt was named an emeritus professor in the 1980s, though he continued academic research and writing well into retirement. Goldschmidt married Beatrice Gale in 1937, whom he had two sons, Mark and Karl. Gale died in 1991, and Karl died in 2001. Walter Goldschmidt died at the

Huntington Memorial Hospital Huntington Health, an Affiliate of Cedars-Sinai is a 544-bed, not-for-profit hospital in Pasadena, California. The hospital originally opened as Pasadena Hospital, though the official name of the hospital is the Pasadena Hospital Association DB ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, on September 1, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, Walter 1913 births 2010 deaths University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni People from San Antonio American expatriates in Uganda University of California, Los Angeles faculty 20th-century American anthropologists American people of German descent Presidents of the American Anthropological Association American academic journal editors 21st-century American anthropologists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Jewish American social scientists Jewish anthropologists American Anthropologist editors