- Elliott Skinner
Elliott Percival Skinner (
June 20 1924 –1 April 2007 ) was an Americananthropologist andUnited States Ambassador to Republic of Upper Volta.Born in
Port of Spain ,Trinidad , he came to the United States in 1943. Skinner enlisted in theUnited States Army in 1944 and fought inWorld War II , which later allowed him to obtain citizenship. He earned abachelor's degree fromNew York University in 1951. He then attendedColumbia University , where he earned amaster’s degree in 1952 and a doctorate in 1955. Skinner learned More (Language) by theMossi while living in Upper Volta for two years.He became a professor at Columbia in 1954.
Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Skinner ambassador to Upper Volta from 1966 to 1969. In 1972 he became the first African-American department chair at Columbia. He wrote several books on Africa, focusing on U.S. policy there.Skinner died of
heart failure at his home inWashington, D.C. .Hevesi, Dennis (May 1, 2007). Elliott Skinner, Scholar and Former Ambassador, Dies at 82. "New York Times "]References
External links
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/anthropology/ance/skinner.html Elliott Percival Skinner] via Columbia University
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