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Clyde Snow

1928 – 2014

American anthropologist

Forensic anthropologistUniversity teacher
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About Clyde Snow

Lived 1928 – 2014 (aged 86). Clyde Snow was an American forensic anthropologist and university teacher.

Clyde Snow (January 7, 1928 – May 16, 2014) was an American forensic anthropologist. Some of his skeletal confirmations include John F. Kennedy, victims of John Wayne Gacy, King Tutankhamun, victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, and Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.

Biography Snow was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1928. He started his higher education at the New Mexico Military Institute where he earned an Associated Degree. He then flunked out of Southern Methodist University. After that, he attended Eastern New Mexico University to earn his Bachelor's Degree. His master's degree in Zoology was then earned at Texas Technical University. Finally, he attended University of Arizona and achieved his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1967.

In 1968, Snow became the head of the department of Forensic Anthropology at Civil Aeromedical Institute. On September 25, 1978, Snow testified before the House Select Committee on Assassinations about various forensic aspects of the Kennedy assassination. He denied that E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis were among the Three tramps found in a railroad car behind the Grassy Knoll. However, he also testified "[Hunt] has rather protruding ears and in later photographs, they have been brought back closer to his head" with plastic surgery. By 1972, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences recognized forensic work as a specialty of anthropology.

Since 1979, Snow turned his focus to forensics exclusively. He worked with various human rights groups and brought to attention mass graves of civilians in Argentina, and spent five years training many of the founding members of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, EAAF). So far, at least five officers in Argentina were convicted partially due to Snow's work in the mass graves. The success of this mission led to the creation of Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Team as well when survivors of the Guatemalan Civil War sought his help in 1991.

In 1991, Snow traveled to San Vicente, Bolivia, to search for the remains of the American outlaws Butch Cassidy (Robert Leroy Parker) and the Sundance Kid (Harry Alonzo Longabaugh). However, the exact location of the grave was only known with an accuracy of several yards, and the grave excavated was found to contain the remains of a German miner named Gustav Zimmer. No remains were found whose DNA matched that of Parker and Longabaugh's families. The search was the subject of the British documentary Wanted - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, first shown April 22, 1993 in Channel 4's True Stories series.

In 1997, Snow worked on mass graves found in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Snow also participated in a re-enactment of an excavation of Butch Masters in Illinois that aired on The Discovery Channel episode Science Detectives on Discover Magazine.

In 2004, Snow appeared on the Unsolved History documentary television series episode Hunting Nazis on The Discovery Channel.

As of 2005, Snow lived with his wife near Oklahoma City. He continued teaching at the University of Oklahoma, and he also did occasional lectures for Forensic Science organizations and law enforcement personnel.

Snow died May 16, 2014, aged 86, in Norman, Oklahoma.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Forensic anthropologist, university teacher
Nationality
Education
University of Arizona, Southern Methodist University, Eastern New Mexico University
Employers
University of Oklahoma, Federal Aviation Administration

People in Clyde Snow's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Clyde Snow's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Clyde Snow?

American anthropologist (1928-2014)

When was Clyde Snow born?

Clyde Snow was born on 7 January 1928 in Fort Worth.

When did Clyde Snow die?

Clyde Snow died on 16 May 2014 in Norman.

What was Clyde Snow's occupation?

Clyde Snow was a forensic anthropologist and university teacher.

What nationality was Clyde Snow?

Clyde Snow was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Clyde Snow

· Wikidata: Q976502

· DBpedia: Clyde Snow

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Clyde Snow. https://biography.guide/clyde-snow/

MLA: "Clyde Snow." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/clyde-snow/.

Chicago: "Clyde Snow." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/clyde-snow/.

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