Alfred Cort Haddon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alfred Cort Haddon
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Alfred Cort Haddon
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| Born | 24 May 1855 London, England, UK
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| Died | 20 April 1940 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anthropology |
| Influences | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Influenced | W. H. R. Rivers Caroline Furness Jayne |
Alfred Cort Haddon (born May 24, 1855 – died April 20, 1940) was an important British scientist. He started as a biologist, studying living things. But he later became famous as an anthropologist and ethnologist. These scientists study human societies and cultures.
Haddon did his most important work in the Torres Strait Islands. He went there with other scientists like W.H.R. Rivers and C.G. Seligman. After his travels, he returned to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he had studied. There, he helped create the School of Anthropology. Haddon also greatly influenced the American ethnologist Caroline Furness Jayne.
In 2011, some of Haddon's recordings from his 1898 trip were added to Australia's Sounds of Australia list. These recordings are kept at the British Library, and many can be heard online.
Contents
Early Life and Studies
Alfred Cort Haddon was born near London on May 24, 1855. His father, John Haddon, ran a company that made printing types. Alfred went to lectures at King's College London. He also taught zoology (the study of animals) and geology (the study of Earth's rocks) at a girls' school in Dover.
In 1875, he started studying at Christ's College, Cambridge. There, he focused on zoology. He became good friends with John Holland Rose, whose sister he married in 1881. After getting his Master of Arts degree, Haddon became a demonstrator (like a teaching assistant) in Zoology at Cambridge in 1879. For a while, he also studied marine biology (the study of ocean life) in Naples.
A Career in Science
Working in Dublin
In 1880, Alfred Haddon became a professor of Zoology at the Royal College of Science for Ireland in Dublin. While he was there, he started the Dublin Field Club in 1885.
His first books were about how living things develop, called Introduction to the Study of Embryology (1887). He also wrote many papers about marine biology. These studies led him to travel to the Torres Strait Islands. He went there to study coral reefs and ocean animals. It was during this trip that he first became very interested in anthropology.
The Torres Strait Expedition
When Haddon returned home, he wrote many papers about the local people he had met. He felt it was very important to gather information about these cultures. He wanted to do this before modern ways of life changed them too much. He pushed for this idea at Cambridge University, where he gave lectures from 1894 to 1898.
Finally, enough money was raised for an expedition to the Torres Strait Islands. The goal was to make a scientific study of the people there. Dr. Haddon was asked to lead this important trip. He managed to get help from Dr. W.H.R. Rivers. Haddon later said that his biggest achievement was getting Dr. Rivers to switch from studying psychology to anthropology.
In April 1898, the expedition arrived in the Torres Strait Islands. They spent over a year there and in Borneo. They brought back a large collection of cultural items. Some of these are now in the British Museum. Most of them are a highlight at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge later gave the wax cylinder recordings to the British Library. The main findings from this trip are in a series of books called The Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits.
Haddon believed that many art objects he collected needed to be saved. Some people at the time wanted to get rid of the traditional religious items and ceremonies of the islanders. The expedition also filmed ceremonial dances. Haddon shared his findings in his 1901 book, "Head-hunters, Black, White and Brown.
Later, from 1960 to 1972, Margaret Lawrie also collected myths and legends from the Torres Strait Islands. Her work adds to what Haddon had already done. Her collection is kept at the State Library of Queensland.
In 1897, Haddon earned his Sc.D. degree for his earlier work. This included a large book called Decorative art of New Guinea (1894). After his second expedition, he became a fellow at his college. He was made a lecturer in ethnology at Cambridge University in 1900. He became a reader in 1909 and retired from that role in 1926. In 1901, he also became an advisor for the Horniman Museum in London.
Haddon visited New Guinea a third time in 1914. He returned during the First World War. His daughter, Kathleen Haddon (1888–1961), went with him. She was a zoologist, photographer, and expert in string-figures. They traveled along the Papuan coast. This trip helped Haddon understand how different cultures shared their material goods across New Guinea.
During the war, the study of Anthropology at the University almost stopped. Haddon went to France to work for the YMCA. After the war, he worked hard to rebuild a strong School of Anthropology in Cambridge.
Later Years and Influence
After retiring, Haddon became an honorary keeper of the large collections from New Guinea at the Cambridge Museum. He also finished writing the remaining parts of the Torres Straits Reports. He had put these aside because he was so busy teaching and managing things. He always helped younger scientists with their work, even putting his own projects aside.
Haddon led the Anthropology section at the British Science Association meetings in 1902 and 1905. He was also president of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the Folk Lore Society, and the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. He was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He received the Huxley Medal in 1920 and was the first person to get the Rivers Medal in 1924.
He was the first to see how important string figures and tricks were to different cultures. These are known as "cats' cradles" in England. They are a popular pastime among native peoples all over the world. Haddon and Rivers created a way to describe how these figures are made. One of his daughters, Kathleen Rishbeth, became an expert on this topic.
Some of his main books include: Evolution in Art (1895), The Study of Man (1898), Head-hunters, Black, White and Brown (1901), The Races of Man (1909), and The Wanderings of People (1911). He also wrote for the Encyclopædia Britannica and the Dictionary of National Biography. He wrote over 200 articles and papers.
Even though new ideas in anthropology later became popular, Haddon was very important. He guided and supported many anthropologists who were just starting their fieldwork. These included Alfred Radcliffe-Brown in the Andaman Islands (1906–08) and Bronisław Malinowski in the Trobriand Islands during World War I. Haddon gave advice to missionaries, government officers, and traders. In return, he gathered information about New Guinea and other places.
Haddon's collection of photographs and artifacts is at the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in Cambridge University. His personal papers are in Cambridge University's Library's Special Collections.
Family Life
Haddon's wife, Fanny Elizabeth Haddon, passed away in 1937. They had one son and two daughters. His daughter Kathleen (1888–1961) was a zoologist, photographer, and an expert in string-figures. She traveled with her father along the coast of New Guinea during his Torres Straits Expedition. She married O. H. T. Rishbeth in 1917.
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Alfred Cort Haddon
See Also
- W. H. R. Rivers
- C.G. Seligman
- Sidney Herbert Ray
- Caroline Furness Jayne
- Margaret Lawrie
- Kathleen Rishbeth
