BOAS, FRANZ (1858– ), American anthropologist, was born in Minden, Westphalia. He studied at Heidelberg, Bonn, and Kiel (1877-81). During the year 1883-84 he made a scien tific journey through the Baffin Land region. The following year he acted as assistant in the royal ethnological museum in Berlin. From 1886-88 he served as associate editor of Science and from 1882-92 as instructor in anthropology at Clark university. In 1899 he was appointed professor of anthropology at Columbia university, and from 1901-05 he was curator of ethnology in the American museum of natural history. From 1907-08 he was president of the American anthropological society, and in 1910 held the same office with the New York academy of sciences.
The Jesup North Pacific expedition, which he planned, and himself took part in while connected with the American museum, resulted in disclosure of interesting relations between the north Asiatic and north-west American cultures. The reports covering expedition were prepared under his editorship.