About Harry Hoijer
Lived 1904 – 1976 (aged 71). Harry Hoijer was an American anthropologist and linguist.
Harry Hoijer (September 6, 1904 – March 11, 1976) was an American linguist and anthropologist who worked on primarily Athabaskan languages and culture. He additionally documented the Tonkawa language, which is now extinct. Hoijer's few works make up the bulk of material on this language. Hoijer was a student of Edward Sapir.
Hoijer contributed greatly to the documentation of the Southern and Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages and to the reconstruction of proto-Athabaskan. Harry Hoijer collected a large number of valuable fieldnotes on many Athabaskan languages, which are unpublished. Some of his notes on Lipan Apache and the Tonkawa language are lost.
Hoijer coined the term "Sapir–Whorf hypothesis". He died in Santa Monica, California, on March 4, 1976.
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Important facts
People in Harry Hoijer's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Harry Hoijer?
American linguist and anthropologist
When was Harry Hoijer born?
Harry Hoijer was born on 6 September 1904 in Chicago.
When did Harry Hoijer die?
Harry Hoijer died on 11 March 1976 in Santa Monica.
What was Harry Hoijer's occupation?
Harry Hoijer was an anthropologist and linguist.
What nationality was Harry Hoijer?
Harry Hoijer was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Harry Hoijer. https://biography.guide/harry-hoijer/
MLA: "Harry Hoijer." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/harry-hoijer/.
Chicago: "Harry Hoijer." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/harry-hoijer/.
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