James Graham Leyburn (January 17, 1902 – April 28, 1993), was an American sociologist, professor, academic administrator, and author. He was a George Washington Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he worked from 1947 until 1972.[1] Leyburn wrote ethnographic books, most notably about Haitian history and culture.[2]

James G. Leyburn
BornJanuary 17, 1902
Hedgesville, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedApril 28, 1993
Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.
EducationDuke University,
Princeton University,
Yale University
Occupation(s)Sociologist, researcher, professor, academic administrator, author
Known forSociology, ethnography

Early life and education

edit

James Graham Leyburn was born in Hedgesville, West Virginia.[3][4] His father was a minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.[5] He was a graduate of Trinity College (now Trinity College of Arts and Sciences) at Duke University, Princeton University, and Yale University.[5]

Career

edit

In his early career, Leyburn held teaching positions at Hollins College (now Hollins University), Princeton University, and Yale University.[3][2] He was a professor of sociology from 1947 to 1972 at University at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia; where he also served as dean from 1947 to 1956.[3] Leyburn had also chaired the sociology and anthropology department from 1947 until 1967 at Washington and Lee University.[1]

Leyburn wrote about the Haitians and the Scotch-Irish. He published several books, including a memoir titled The Way We Lived: Durham, 1900–1920 (1989).[5] He received an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1942 for his book on the Haitian people.[6]

Death and legacy

edit

He died at the age of 91 of pneumonia in April 1993 in a hospital in Hagerstown, Maryland.[1]

The main library at Washington and Lee University is named for him, and a 2004 portrait hangs in its lobby, by artist Steven Polson.[5] Washington and Lee University has a collection of his papers.[3]

Publications

edit
  • Leyburn, James Graham (1931). Handbook of Ethnography. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-598-93220-4.[7]
  • Leyburn, James Graham (1935). Frontier Folkways. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-598-61100-0.[2][8]
  • Leyburn, James Graham (1941). The Haitian People. Yale University Press.[9][10]
  • Leyburn, James Graham (1944). Pierson College, the First Decade, 1933-1943. Overbrook Press.
  • Leyburn, James Graham (1947). World Minority Problems. Public Affairs Committee.
  • Leyburn, James G. (1962). The Scotch-Irish: A Social History. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4259-1. JSTOR 10.5149/9780807888919_leyburn.[11][12]
  • Leyburn, James G. (1989). The Way We Lived: Durham, 1900–1920. Elliston, VA: Northcross House.[13]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "James Leyburn dies at 91". The Roanoke Times. May 1, 1993. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Frontier Society; Frontier Folkways. By James G. Leyburn. 291 pp. New Haven: Yale University Press. $3". The New York Times. June 16, 1935. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "The James Graham Leyburn Papers, 1902–1993 WLU Coll. 0288". Washington and Lee University, James G. Leyburn Library, Special Collections and Archives.
  4. ^ Publication. West Virginia Library Association. 1957. p. 41.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ a b c d "Leyburn, James Graham". Open Durham.
  6. ^ "The Haitian People". anisfield-wolf.org. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Gunther, Erna (January 1933). "Handbook of Ethnography . James G. Leyburn". American Anthropologist. 35 (1): 165–166. doi:10.1525/aa.1933.35.1.02a00180. ISSN 0002-7294.
  8. ^ Wallis, Wilson D. (July 1935). "Leyburn, James G. Frontier Folkways. Pp. x, 291. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1935. $3.00". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 180 (1): 242. doi:10.1177/000271623518000172. ISSN 0002-7162. S2CID 145588101.
  9. ^ Millspaugh, A. C. (July 1942). "The Haitian People;. By James G. Leyburn, Associate Professor of the Science of Society and Fellow of Pierson College in Yale University. (New Haven: Yale University Press. 1941. Pp. x, 342. $4.00.)". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/47.4.915. ISSN 1937-5239.
  10. ^ Logan, Rayford W. (May 1942). "Leyburn, James G. The Haitian People. Pp. x, 342. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941. $4.00". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 221 (1): 216–217. doi:10.1177/000271624222100155. ISSN 0002-7162. S2CID 145584180.
  11. ^ Hunter, William A. (April 1963). "Book Reviews: The Scotch-Irish: A Social History. By James G. Leyburn". Pennsylvania History. 30 (2).
  12. ^ Wittke, Carl; Leyburn, James G. (December 1962). "The Scotch-Irish: A Social History". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 49 (3): 497. doi:10.2307/1902568. ISSN 0161-391X. JSTOR 1902568.
  13. ^ Goldfield, David R.; Leyburn, James G. (September 1990). "The Way We Lived: Durham, 1900-1920". The Journal of American History. 77 (2): 697. doi:10.2307/2079279. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 2079279.