James Bennett Griffin
| James Bennett Griffin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 12, 1905 Atchison, Kansas |
| Died | May 17, 1997 (aged 92) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Residence |
 United States
|
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | anthropology, archaeology |
| Institutions | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor USA |
| Alma mater |
University of Chicago, (BA, 1927; MA 1930) University of Michigan (PhD 1936) |
| Known for | Eastern North American prehistory |
| Notable awards | Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1968 |
James Bennett Griffin (also known as Jimmy Griffin) (January 12, 1905 – May 17, 1997) was an American archaeologist. He is regarded as one of the most influential archaeologists in North America in the 20th century.
Born in Atchison, Kansas, the son of Charles and Maude Griffin, Jimmy and his family subsequently moved to Denver, Colorado. His father was a supplier for railroad equipment. Griffin's interest in archaeology was born through reading as a child and his love for visiting museums. When Jimmy was eleven his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, where he lived until he enrolled in college. He attended Oak Park schools and was a cheerleader at Oak Park and River Forest High School. At school in Oak Park he met Fred Eggan and Wendell Bennett. His friendship with these two schoolmates would last into graduate school and his professional career in anthropology. In 1933, he married Ruby Fletcher. They had three children: John, David, and James. Griffin retired in 1976 and remained in Ann Arbor for several years. His wife died in 1979, and in 1984, he moved to Washington D.C. He met Mary Dewitt there and soon married her. They spent twelve years together living in Washington before Griffin’s death in Bethesda, Maryland aged 92.
Griffin attended and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School where he became a champion swimmer, as well as cheer leader. He then enrolled into the University of Chicago in 1923 where he initially planned on studying Business Administration. After two years in the BA program, he transferred to the program of General Science. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1927. After graduating, Griffin took a brief break from school to work for Amoco, but later returned to the University of Chicago. In 1930, he graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology and Anthropology. In 1936 he was awarded a special Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan, as the department there did not yet have a formal Ph.D. program.
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