Biography/History

Edward A. Ross was an eminent sociologist, world traveler, and supporter of liberal causes. In each of these capacities he was, above all, an astute and popular observer of people and of the social, racial, and cultural forces that shaped people's behavior. As such and as a prolific author and lecturer, he exercised an influence and had a following far greater than most academics.

A pioneer in the field of sociology, Ross's earliest contribution to that discipline and his greatest contribution to progressive reform ideology was his criticism of the deterministic view of society embodied in Social Darwinism. He was also closely associated with a number of specific reform issues. In the 1890s he was an outspoken advocate of free silver and the regulation of monopolies. Beginning with his ouster from Stanford University in 1900, he was closely associated with the cause of academic freedom. Moreover, he was a strong temperance advocate, was involved in the birth control movement, and in the 1920s and later was associated with the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of other liberal and reform movements.

Ross's standing as a sociologist meshed with his role as a nativist. Using a methodology which now seems woefully unscientific he was quick to attach negative stereotypes to various ethnic and racial groups. Using these judgments he became influential in the immigration restriction and eugenics movements. Also related to Ross's sociological standing was his popularity as an interpreter of foreign cultures. Ross regularly journeyed to far-off lands and followed up each trip with a series of popular articles and/or a book. These works, which have been described as “sociological travelogues,” were widely read and gave Ross the status of an expert on foreign peoples.

December 12, 1866	Born at Virden, Illinois to William Carpenter and Rachel Ellsworth Ross.
1874	Rachel Ellsworth Ross died.
circa 1875-1876	William Carpenter Ross died.
1882-1886	Attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and received A.B. degree.
1886-1888	Taught at Fort Dodge (Iowa) Collegiate Institute.
1888-1890	Resided in Germany and studied at the University of Berlin.
1890-1891	Studied under Richard T. Ely and Woodrow Wilson at Johns Hopkins University and received his Ph.D.
1891-1892	Taught economics at University of Indiana.
June 16, 1892	Married Rosamond Simons, niece of sociologist Lester Frank Ward's wife.
1892-1893	Associate Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Cornell University.
1892-1893	Secretary of American Economic Association.
1893-1900	Professor of Economics at Stanford University. At Stanford, Ross's views on Chinese immigration, regulation of monopolies, and free silver caused conflict with Mrs. Leland Stanford and eventually resulted in his ouster from the University.
1895-1951	Advisory Editor of the American Journal of Sociology.
1896	Honest Dollars published.
1898-1899	European sabbatical.
1901	Social Control published.
1901-1906	Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska.
1905	Foundations of Sociology published.
1906	Appointed Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin.
1907	Sin and Society published.
1908	Social Psychology published.
January 1910	In separate incidents Ross drew fire for announcing the time and place of a lecture by radical Emma Goldman, and sponsoring a talk by Parker Sercombe, allegedly a “free love” advocate. As a result Ross was censured by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on March 2.
February-September 1910	Traveled in China. The Changing Chinese, based on observations from this trip, was published in 1911.
July 1913-January 1914	Traveled in South America. South of Panama, published in 1915, was based on this journey.
1914-1915	President of American Sociological Society.
July-December 1917	Traveled in Russia under auspices of the American Institute of Social Service. Interviewed Leon Trotsky on December 9. Russia in Upheaval (1918) and other works resulted from this trip.
1920	The Principles of Sociology published.
June-August 1922	Traveled in Mexico. The Social Revolution in Mexico (1923) was based on this trip.
June 1924-January 1925	Traveled to Portuguese East Africa (Angola) and India. In Africa studied the treatment of black workers by colonial authorities. Ross's findings, Report on Native Labor in Portuguese Africa, appeared in 1925.
June-October 1928	Taught at the University of Mexico and traveled in Mexico and Central America.
October 1928-June 1929	Took around-the-world cruise as Educational Director of the Floating University.
1929	Became chairman of newly formed Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin.
February-April 1932	Traveled to Tahiti.
April 6, 1932	Rosamond Simons Ross died.
June-September 1934	Traveled in Russia, and several Scandinavian, Eastern European, and Mediterranean countries.
1935	Elected to American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Committee.
1936	Seventy Years of It published.
February-September 1938	Traveled in Australia.
September 1940	Married Helen Forbes.
1940-1950	Chairman of ACLU National Committee.
July 22, 1951	Died at Madison, Wisconsin.