Sapir, Edward National Historic Person
Ottawa, Ontario
Portrait of Edward Sapir, [19-]
© Canadian Museum of History | Musée Canadien de l'histoire, 85901 LS
Address :
240 McLeod Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1983-11-18
Life Date:
1884 to 1939
Other Name(s):
-
Sapir, Edward
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
1983-OB-05
Importance:
Anthropologist, furthered the study of indigenous peoples in Canada
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 240 McLeod Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Born in Germany and raised and educated in the United States, Sapir came to Ottawa in 1910 to head the Division of Anthropology of the Geological Survey of Canada. This division later became the National Museum of Man. During his 15 years at the Museum he furthered the study of Canada's indigenous peoples, and contributed significantly to the understanding and classification of their languages, as well as to building a national ethnographic collection. His interests included linguistics, ethnology, psychology and literature. He left an international intellectual legacy which endures to the present.