George Eaton Simpson

George Eaton Simpson

George Eaton Simpson
Born	1904
Died	1998
Society Membership

Notes

House Notes

1957 Wellcome medal. Jamaican revivalist cults

Notes From Elsewhere

George Eaton Simpson was born to Lawrence E. and Grace M. Simpson in Knoxville, Iowa on October 4, 1904. He received his B.S. degree from Coe College in 1926, M.A. degree from the University of Missouri in 1927, and Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934. He taught at Temple University and at Pennsylvania State University before coming to Oberlin College as a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology.
From 1947-71, Mr. Simpson became a legendary member of the Oberlin faculty, becoming an active leader of the faculty and serving many times on all major committees, including the Advancement Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee on Oberlin College African American Studies. For most of his time in the department of Sociology and Anthropology, he served as department chair. He was known as a strong guardian of the faculty governance system.
Mr. Simpson was a gifted and dedicated teacher and his many students acknowledge their lasting gratitude. He authored over 60 books and articles, including Black Religion in the New World (1978) and Jamaican Revivalist Cults (booklet, 1956). In his writings, he brought a profound knowledge and balanced judgment to the study of race relations and to the origin and character of black religions in the New World. See the Oberlin On-line Catalogue for more titles.
He received numerous honors and awards for his work. Among these were the Wellcome Medal for Anthropological Research; the 1958 Anisfield-Wolf Award in Race Relations (with J. Milton Yinger); and Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Oberlin College (1976) and Coe College (1980).
Simpson was active in professional organizations, and he served the Oberlin Community in various capacities. He was president of the Philadelphia Anthropological Society and Vice President of the American Folklore Society (1963).
He met his wife of 61 years, Eleanor Brown, at the University of Missouri where both were graduate students. They had four children, Jon E., A. Louise; Nancy B.; and G Curtis.
George and Eleanor Simspon moved to Friendship Village, a retirement community in 1986. He was soon asked to serve on several committees, including the Memorial Fund Committee and the Health Center Committee.
Eleanor Simpson died in June of 1991 following a battle with Alzheimer's disease. George Simpson died Dec. 13, 1998 at Friendship Village in Columbus, Ohio.

Related Material Details

RAI Material

MS 189 Wellcome

Other Material

Smithsonian - photos