Donald R. Bender was born on October 23, 1934 in Madison, Wisconsin. Bender attended public school in Madison, and furthered his education by earning his Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1957. In 1964, under Paul Bohannan, Bender wrote his doctoral dissertation entitled Early French Ethnography in Africa and the Development of Ethnology in France, and completed his Ph.D. at Northwestern University.
Bender taught at San Jose State College for four years before completing his PhD. Dr. Bender joined the University of Minnesota staff in 1965 where he was an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Family Social Science, and acting chairman of Family Social Science, and anthropologist for the Extension Division of the University.
For Donald Bender, "Anthropology represented ethnic and tolerance, a methodology for understanding others, and knowledge about important things in other human's lives". When he died at the age of 35 years old, his very promising career was really just getting started. He had many articles and publications he was working on, many others he had yet to start, but all were left undone.
Dr. Donald R. Bender died tragically on December 29, 1969 in an unsuccessful attempt to save one of his children. Dr. Bender had taken his family on a Christmas holiday in which they traveled the U.S. eventually ending up in Monterey, California. Dr. Bender was leading his two oldest boys down a cliff face to show them the surf, when his five year old boy slipped and fell into the water; neither Dr. Bender nor his son survived the tragic events.
Writings of Donald R. Bender:
1969: "The development of French anthropology." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences.
1967: "A refinement of the concept of Household: Families, co-residence, and domestic functions." American Anthropologist 69: 493 - 504
1969: "Review of Hill Farmers of Nigeria; Cultural Ecology of the Kafyar of the Jus Plateau," by R.M. Netting. American Anthropologist 71: 1186 - 1188
1970: "Agnatic or Cognatic? A re-evaluation of Ondo descent." Man 5: 71 - 87
American Anthropologist, Vol. 73 Number 1, American Anthropological Assoc, Washington D.C., Feb-June, 1971
Former link, http://www.publicanthropology.org/Archive/AA1971.htm, (2003)
Former link, http://www.publicanthropology.org/Archive/AA1967.htm, (2003)
Written By: Chad Myers, 2003
Edited By: Lillian Dolentz, 2008