author
Frank W. (Frank Wilson) Blackmar
1854–1931
An early American sociologist and historian, he helped shape graduate education at the University of Kansas and became a leading figure in the young field of sociology. His work ranged from social theory to Kansas history, reflecting a wide curiosity about how communities and institutions grow.
1 Audiobook
History of Human Society
by Frank W. (Frank Wilson) Blackmar
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1854, Frank Wilson Blackmar built a career as a teacher, historian, and sociologist at a time when sociology was still taking shape in the United States. He taught at the University of the Pacific before joining the University of Kansas, where he became a professor and later the first dean of the graduate school, serving in that role for decades.
Blackmar is remembered as an important early scholar of American sociology and as a major academic presence at Kansas. He served as the 9th president of the American Sociological Society, now known as the American Sociological Association, and he also wrote on history and public life as well as sociology.
His long connection with the University of Kansas left a lasting mark on the school’s intellectual life. Archival records and university histories show him not only as an administrator and teacher, but also as a writer deeply interested in the history, identity, and civic development of Kansas.