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James George Frazer

Scottish social anthropologist (1854-1941) · United Kingdom · Academics · Died at 87

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He mapped the world's myths and rituals into one sprawling argument about magic, religion, and the death of kings - then spent decades watching younger scholars dismantle it.

AcademicsAcademicLiteratureHistoryNews BroadcastingUnited KingdomEurope19th Century

A life in dates

1941Died7 May 19411921Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of ParisAwardHonorary Doctorate from the University of StrasbourgAward1916Huxley Memorial MedalAward1890“A candidate for the priesthood could only succeed to office by slaying the priest, and having slain him, he retained office till he was himself slain by a stronger or a craftier.”In their wordsChapter 1, The King of the Wood.

“For there are strong grounds for thinking that, in the evolution of thought, magic has preceded religion.”In their wordsChapter 3, Sympathetic Magic.

“The old notion that the savage is the freest of mankind is the reverse of the truth.”In their wordsChapter 3, Sympathetic Magic (See also: the Noble savage).

“By religion, then, I understand a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life.”In their wordsChapter 4, Magic and Religion.

“We seem to move on a thin crust which may at any moment be rent by the subterranean forces slumbering below.”In their wordsChapter 4, Magic and Religion.

“I am a plain practical man, not one of your theorists and splitters of hairs and choppers of logic.”In their wordsChapter 4, Magic and Religion.

1854Born1 January 1854

Also in Deutsch

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In their own words 10

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James George Frazer
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10 statements, newest first

  1. A candidate for the priesthood could only succeed to office by slaying the priest, and having slain him, he retained office till he was himself slain by a stronger or a craftier.

    1890, Chapter 1, The King of the Wood., Own words

  2. The natives of British Columbia live largely upon the fish which abound in their seas and rivers.

    1890, Chapter 3, Sympathetic Magic., Own words

  3. For there are strong grounds for thinking that, in the evolution of thought, magic has preceded religion.

    1890, Chapter 3, Sympathetic Magic., Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris1921
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Strasbourg1921
Huxley Memorial Medal1916
Order of Merit
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellow of the British Academy
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi

Family

James George Frazer

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About this person

James George Frazer was born in Glasgow on 1 January 1854, trained as a classicist, and turned to social anthropology and folklore when the field barely had a name. His work shaped the early study of comparative religion and mythology, building vast architectures of pattern from cultures he never visited. He was knighted for the effort. By the time he died on 7 May 1941, the ground had shifted: the next generation had begun tearing down the grand theories, but the questions he asked still echoed.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1854 to 1941 · aged 87

Academics from the United Kingdom 6

Christophoros A. Pissarides56.6David Mumford56.6James Meade56.7Lionel Robbins, Baron Robbins56.6Roger Williams56.7Edward B. Titchener56.5

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