author
Wilfrid D. (Wilfrid Dyson) Hambly
1886–1962
A British-born anthropologist and ethnologist, he spent much of his career studying African cultures and bringing that research to a wider public through museum work and writing. His books range from field-based studies of West and Central Africa to wider surveys of tattooing, marriage customs, and social life.
2 Audiobooks
The Native Races of British North America
by Wilfrid D. (Wilfrid Dyson) Hambly
The Native Races of East Africa
by Wilfrid D. (Wilfrid Dyson) Hambly
About the author
Born in Clayton, Yorkshire, on December 20, 1886, Wilfrid Dyson Hambly was an anthropologist and ethnologist whose work focused especially on sub-Saharan Africa. He studied at Hartley University College in Southampton and later at Jesus College, Oxford, after first working as a schoolteacher.
Hambly became associated with the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where he served as Assistant Curator of African Ethnology. He is particularly remembered for leading the Frederick H. Rawson–Field Museum expedition to Africa in 1929–1930, research that fed into studies of Nigeria, Angola, and African ethnology more broadly.
He wrote widely for both specialist and general readers. Among the works linked to his name are The History of Tattooing, Tribal Dancing and Social Development, and museum and regional studies such as Ethnology of Africa and Culture Areas of Nigeria. He died in Chicago on July 18, 1962.