Alfred C. (Alfred Cort) Haddon

Born in London on May 24, 1855, Alfred Cort Haddon began his career in zoology and marine biology before a visit to the Torres Strait changed the course of his life. That experience drew him toward anthropology, and he went on to become one of the key figures in establishing the subject as a serious academic discipline in Britain.

Haddon is especially remembered for leading the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Strait in 1898–99. The expedition brought together detailed study of language, social life, belief, and material culture, and it helped set a new standard for careful field research. He also became closely associated with Cambridge, where his teaching and organizing did much to build the university's school of anthropology.

Alongside his own research, he wrote widely and encouraged a generation of students and colleagues. By the time of his death in Cambridge on April 20, 1940, he was widely regarded as one of the founders of modern British anthropology.