Rick Condon was an American anthropologist

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

 who specialized in the study of Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

. He was curator

Curator

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...

 of the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

The Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum is a museum located in Hubbard Hall at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Named after Arctic explorers and Bowdoin College graduates Robert E. Peary and Donald B...

 and editor of the international journal, Arctic Anthropology.

Early years

Condon was born in Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....

, USA. In 1974, he received a Bachelor's Degree in anthropology from Rutgers College, and in 1981, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

. His dissertation was entitled, Inuit behavior and seasonal change: a study of behavioral ecology in the central Canadian Arctic.

Career

His anthropological research included the people of Holman (Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories

Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories

Ulukhaktok is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The 2006 census indicated a population of 398 of which 360 were Inuvialuit or Inuit along with 7.5% non-Aboriginal and 2.5% North American Indian...

, Victoria Island, Canada), northern Alaska, and Baffin Island

Baffin Island

Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...

. He was an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

.

Personal life

Condon married the anthropologist Pamela Rose Stern in 1984. They collaborated on several research projects. Condon and Stern had two daughters, Kimberly and Morgan.

He disappeared 7 September 1995 in Chukotka

Chukchi Peninsula

The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula , at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the...

, Russia and it is presumed he drowned while traveling by boat between Sireniki and Provideniya

Provideniya

Provideniya , is an urban-type settlement situated on Komsomolskaya Bay, part of Provideniya Bay in the northeastern part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located across the Bering Strait from Alaska, and is very close to the International Date Line. The town is served by Provideniya...

.

Partial works

• (1982), Inuit natality rhythms in the central Canadian arctic
• (1983), Inuit behavior and seasonal change in the Canadian Arctic
• (1987), Inuit youth : growth and change in the Canadian Arctic
• (1996), The northern Copper Inuit : a history