Robert Ardrey

Robert Ardrey
(c.1960)
(c.1960)
Born(1908-10-16)October 16, 1908
Chicago, Illinois, United States
DiedJanuary 14, 1980(1980-01-14) (aged 71)
Kalk Bay, South Africa
OccupationWriter, screenwriter, and playwright
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Chicago, Phi Beta Kappa, 1930
Notable works
Notable awards
SpousesHelen Johnson
(m. 1938–1960; divorced)
Berdine Grunewald
(m. 1960–1980; his death)

Robert Ardrey (October 16, 1908 – January 14, 1980) was an American playwright, screenwriter and science writer perhaps best known for The Territorial Imperative (1966). After a Broadway and Hollywood career, he returned to his academic training in anthropology in the 1950s.[1][2]

As a playwright and screenwriter Ardrey received many accolades. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1937,[3] won the inaugural Sidney Howard Memorial Award in 1940, and in 1966 received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay for his script for Khartoum.[4] His most famous play is Thunder Rock.

Ardrey's science writing challenged models in the social sciences of his time. African Genesis (1961) and The Territorial Imperative (1966), two of his most widely read works, increased public awareness of evolutionary science.[5][6] However he was criticized by scientists for having misunderstood the science[7][8][9] and misinterpreted the evidence.[10][11][12][13][14]

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  4. ^ "Khartoum". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database.
  5. ^ Hunt, George P. "Provocateur in Anthropology." Time 26 August 1966: 2. Print.
  6. ^ Wokler, Robert. "Perfectible Apes in Decadent Cultures: Rousseau's Anthropology Revisited." Daedalus Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer, 1978), pp. 107-134. Print.
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