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Dr. (Rev.) John Montgomery Cooper - 1939
Rev. John Montgomery Cooper, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, at the
Catholic University of America, was born at Rockville, Maryland on October 28th,
1881. He is descended from James Cooper, of Mayfield, Staffordshire, England,
 who settled at Darby, Pennsylvania, in 1684. Doctor Cooper received his early
education at Calvert Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, from 1888 to 1897. Thereafter,
he matriculated at St. Charles College Howard County, Maryland, and two years
later enrolled at the American College in Rome. The Doctor of Philosophy Degree
was conferred on him by the Roman Academy of St. Thomas in 1902, and three years
later, he was awarded the Doctorate in Sacred Theology by Propaganda College in
Rome. Ordained to the priesthood in Rome, on June 17th, 1905, Father Cooper has
been a member of the faculty of Catholic University since 1909, and Professor of
Anthropology since 1928.
Doctor Cooper's scientific work has been concerned chiefly with the North
American Indians amongst whom he has done a large amount of field research. From
1915 to 1938, he has to his credit, twelve expeditions to various tribes. He has
made significant discoveries particularly with reference to land tenure, hunting
and trapping methods, and the magico - religious culture of such tribes as
Tetes-de-Boule Cree, James Bay Cree and Montagnais and Althabaskan speaking
peoples of the Mackenzie Valley. He also has to his credit, discoveries in the
stratification of culture in southern South America, especially of the Tribes of
Tierra del Fuego.
Doctor Cooper has published four books on his findings in Anthropology, as well
as numerous articles which have appeared in scientific journals in this country
and abroad. He has merited the recognition of his fellow scientists of the
American Anthropological Association, being chosen to serve as Secretary from
1931 to 1937, and as Vice - President from 1937 to the present. He is a past
President of the Anthropological Society of Washington; Chairman, National
Research Council Committee on Survey of South American Indians; Corresponding
member Sociedad Anthropologia Argentina, member Washington Academy of Sciences;
Societe des Americanistes de Paris and Anthropologische Gesellschaft in Wien. He
has been the moving spirit of the Catholic Anthropological Conference serving
from the beginning as Secretary - Treasurer and Editor of the Conference
Publications, and of its quarterly, "Primitive Man".
Mendel Medal Presentation Program, May 4,
1939. Villanova College, Villanova, Pennsylvania.
Cooper, John Montgomery, anthropologist;
born Rockville, Maryland, October 28, 1881; son of James Joseph and Emma Lillie
(Tolou) Cooper; student Calvert Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, 1888-1897, St.
Charles College, Maryland, 1897-1899; Ph.D. American College, Rome, Italy, 1902,
S.T.D., 1905. Assistant pastor St. Matthew's Church, Washington, D.C.,
1905-1918; instructor Catholic University of America, 1909-1923, associate
professor, 1923-1928, professor of anthropology since 1928. In charge camp and
community activities, National Catholic War Council, 1918-1920. President
Anthropology Society of Washington, 1930-1932; president American Anthropology
Association 1940; Secretary and treasurer Catholic Anthropology Conference since
1926; vice president American Folklore Society, 1943. Fellow A.A.A.S.; member
Washington Academy of Sciences. Awarded Mendel Medal, 1939. Author: Analytical
and Critical Bibliography of Tribes of Tierra del Fuego, 1917; Birth Control,
1923; Play Fair, 1923; Content of Advanced Religion Course, 1924; Religion
Outlines for colleges (4 volumes), 1924-1930; Children's Institutions, 1931;
Northern Algonquian Supreme Being, 1934; Snares and Deadfalls of Northern
Algonquians, 938; Temporal Sequence and Marginal Cultures, 1941. Editor of
Primitive Man. Address: Catholic University of America, Washington. Died May 22,
1949; buried Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington.
Who Was Who in America. Volume IV,
1951-1960. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1968, p.183.
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