born Oct. 2, 1832, London, Eng.
died Jan. 2, 1917, Wellington, Somerset
British anthropologist, often called the founder of cultural anthropology .
He taught at Oxford University (18841909), where he became the first professor of anthropology. His Primitive Culture , 2 vol. (1871), influenced by Charles Darwin , developed the theory of an evolutionary relationship between what he called primitive and modern cultures, stressing the cultural achievements that marked the progression of all humanity from a "savage" to a "civilized" state. At a time when there was still controversy over whether all human races belonged to a single species, Tylor was a powerful advocate of the unity of all humankind. He was instrumental in establishing anthropology as an academic discipline. See also animism ; sociocultural evolution .
Tylor, detail of a chalk drawing by G. Bonavia; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
By courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London