Textor, Robert B., May 17, 1986

Robert B. Textor (March 13, 1923 - January 3, 2013) was an anthropologist, professor, and scholar born in Cloquet, Minnesota. He attended college for political science before joining the Army in 1943, where he was placed into the Army Specialized Training Program to study Japanese to become an interpreter. He was then sent to the Military Intelligence Japanese Language School before getting a job as a civilian to go to Japan as an interpreter for the Allied Translator and Interpreter Service in 1946. Following his work there, Textor took a job with the Civil Information and Education Division under SCAP, remaining there until November 1947. In 1945, he had also received his bachelor’s in Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.

He returned to the United States in 1948, receiving his PhD in cultural anthropology from Cornell University in 1960. From the next two years, Textor trained the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers for Thailand. In 1964, he joined the Stanford University faculty as a professor of anthropology. He is recognized for his research on Thai and Asian culture, for creating the ethnographic futures research, and for originating anticipatory anthropology. In 1998, Textor established the American Anthropological Association established the Textor Family Prize for Excellence in Anticipatory Anthropology. Textor retired to Portland, Oregon, in 1990. In 1997, he developed a group called the “Thirsters,” a community of people discussing world issues, peace, and cultural differences. Robert B. Textor passed away at the age of 89.