Biography: William I. Thomas

Influences on The Major Theorists

W.I. Thomas (1863-1947)

William I. Thomas was born on August 13, 1863 in Russell County, Virginia. Thomas' father was a farmer/Methodist preacher committed to the idea of learning. Realizing that his seven children had little opportunities for learning in Virginia, he moved them to Knoxville, Tennessee. William remained in the area and enrolled in the University of Tennessee in 1880, and received his undergraduate education in literature and the classics. After he graduated, Thomas remained at the University as an instructor teaching Greek, Latin, German and French. In 1888 he went for one year's leave of absence in Germany, where he became especially interested in ethnography.

When Thomas left Germany he went on to be a professor in English at Oberlin for three years. When the first American Department of Sociology opened at the University of Chicago, Thomas left his professor position at Oberlin to become a graduate student in Chicago. In 1896, he received his Ph.D. in Sociology and served as an instructor until he was promoted to associate professor in 1900, and full professor in 1910. During his educational pursuits, he married Harriet Park in 1888.

Thomas's interests centered on ethnographic and comparative studies. With the aide of a generous endowment in 1908 from Helen Culver, heiress of the Hull House, Thomas was able to finance the studies that eventually led to the publication of the widely known The Polish Peasant. In his studies of the Polish community, Thomas mastered the Polish language, made several trips to Poland and developed extensive contacts with the Polish community in Chicago. Having chanced upon a letter written by a Polish girl found in a bag of trash, Thomas decided that there was a lot to learn from such letters. Hence, Thomas gathered 754 letters from the Polish community and some 8,000 documents from the archives of a Polish newspaper from Poland. Additionally, he gathered data and documents from Polish parish histories in Chicago, from immigrant organizations, diaries of Polish immigrants and files of charitable and legal aid associations. In 1914, Florian Znaniecki, Director of the Polish Emigrants Protective Association in Poland came to Chicago to work with Thomas on the monumental The Polish Peasant, published in 1918.

Thomas saw a turn for the worse in 1918. Having been known for "advanced views" that did not suit the established powers, and also for his flamboyant lifestyle, Thomas became a bit of a controversial character. Additionally, his wife was known for her involvement in the pacifist movement. In 1918, The Chicago Tribune announced that Thomas had been arrested by the F.B.I. for the violation of the Mann Act which forbade the transport of women across state lines for "immoral purposes," and for false hotel registration. While these charges were later thrown out in court, they still caused quite a stir. The University of Chicago immediately dismissed Thomas, shattering his career at the age of 55. Though he never was given another permanent position in a university, he went on to lecture at the New York School for Social Research and had a visiting lectureship at Harvard. And, amongst some controversy among the older sociologists, Thomas won the presidency of the American Sociological Society in 1926.

Thomas' first marriage failed. However, Thomas came back on top as usual and remarried at the age of seventy-two to thirty-six year old Dorothy Swain, who later became the first woman president of the American Sociological Society. Thomas died at the age of 84 in December of 1947.

Some of his Major Works:
Sex and Society: Studies in the Social Psychology of Sex (1907)
Source Book for Social Origins: Ethnological Materials, Psychological Standpoint, Classified and Annotated Bibliographies for the Interpretation of Savage Society (1909)
The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918-1920)
Old World Traits Transplanted (1921)
The Unadjusted Girl: With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis (1923)
Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences (1937)

Information for this biography gathered from:
Detailed bibliography: http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~lward/thomas/Thomas_bibliography.html
Dead Sociologists' Index www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Thomas/ThomasP1.html


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Influences on The Major Theorists W.I. Thomas (1863-1947) William I. Thomas was born on August 13, 1863 in Russell County, Virginia. Thomas' father was a farmer/Methodist preacher committed to the idea of learning. Realizing that his seven children had little opportunities for learning in Virginia, he moved them to Knoxville, Tennessee. William remained in the area and enrolled in the University of Tennessee in 1880, and received his undergraduate education in literature and the classics. After he graduated, Thomas remained at the University as an instructor teaching Greek, Latin, German and French. In 1888 he went for one year's leave of absence in Germany, where he became especially interested in ethnography. When Thomas left Germany he went on to be a professor in English at Oberlin for three years. When the first American Department of Sociology opened at the University of Chicago, Thomas left his professor position at Oberlin to become a graduate student in Chicago. In 1896, he received his Ph.D. in Sociology and served as an instructor until he was promoted to associate professor in 1900, and full professor in 1910. During his educational pursuits, he married Harriet Park in 1888. Thomas's interests centered on ethnographic and comparative studies. With the aide of a generous endowment in 1908 from Helen Culver, heiress of the Hull House, Thomas was able to finance the studies that eventually led to the publication of the widely known The Polish Peasant. In his studies of the Polish community, Thomas mastered the Polish language, made several trips to Poland and developed extensive contacts with the Polish community in Chicago. Having chanced upon a letter written by a Polish girl found in a bag of trash, Thomas decided that there was a lot to learn from such letters. Hence, Thomas gathered 754 letters from the Polish community and some 8,000 documents from the archives of a Polish newspaper from Poland. Additionally, he gathered data and documents from Polish parish histories in Chicago, from immigrant organizations, diaries of Polish immigrants and files of charitable and legal aid associations. In 1914, Florian Znaniecki, Director of the Polish Emigrants Protective Association in Poland came to Chicago to work with Thomas on the monumental The Polish Peasant, published in 1918. Thomas saw a turn for the worse in 1918. Having been known for "advanced views" that did not suit the established powers, and also for his flamboyant lifestyle, Thomas became a bit of a controversial character. Additionally, his wife was known for her involvement in the pacifist movement. In 1918, The Chicago Tribune announced that Thomas had been arrested by the F.B.I. for the violation of the Mann Act which forbade the transport of women across state lines for "immoral purposes," and for false hotel registration. While these charges were later thrown out in court, they still caused quite a stir. The University of Chicago immediately dismissed Thomas, shattering his career at the age of 55. Though he never was given another permanent position in a university, he went on to lecture at the New York School for Social Research and had a visiting lectureship at Harvard. And, amongst some controversy among the older sociologists, Thomas won the presidency of the American Sociological Society in 1926. Thomas' first marriage failed. However, Thomas came back on top as usual and remarried at the age of seventy-two to thirty-six year old Dorothy Swain, who later became the first woman president of the American Sociological Society. Thomas died at the age of 84 in December of 1947. Some of his Major Works: Sex and Society: Studies in the Social Psychology of Sex (1907) Source Book for Social Origins: Ethnological Materials, Psychological Standpoint, Classified and Annotated Bibliographies for the Interpretation of Savage Society (1909) The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918-1920) Old World Traits Transplanted (1921) The Unadjusted Girl: With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis (1923) Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences (1937) Information for this biography gathered from: Detailed bibliography: http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~lward/thomas/Thomas_bibliography.html Dead Sociologists' Index www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Thomas/ThomasP1.html