About Henry Usher Hall
Lived 1876 – 1944 (aged 67–68). Henry Usher Hall was an American anthropologist.
Henry Usher Hall (1876 – November 2, 1944) was an American anthropologist.
He was Assistant Curator and Curator of the General Ethnology Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum from 1915 to 1935. He was instrumental in guiding the Museum's African collection in its early years.
He accompanied Polish anthropologist Maria Antonina Czaplicka (1886-1921) on an expedition down the Yenisei River in Siberia to the Kara Sea in 1914, together with Maud Doria Haviland (1889–1941), ornithologist, and Dora Curtis, artist.
From 1915 to 1935, Hall served as Assistant Curator and later Curator of the General Ethnology Section at the Penn Museum, where he played a key role in establishing its African collections.
Hall married the artist Frances Devereux Jones Hall (1872–1941) on 20 June 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She died in 1941 and they had no children.
He conducted excavations in the Dordogne in 1923, and in 1936–1937 he led an expedition to Sierra Leone, where he investigated the Sherbro people. On his return from Sierra Leone, he published The Sherbro of Sierra Leone (1938), which included an account of the secret Poro society of the Sherbro men.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Henry Usher Hall's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Henry Usher Hall's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Henry Usher Hall?
American anthropologist
When was Henry Usher Hall born?
Henry Usher Hall was born in 1876.
When did Henry Usher Hall die?
Henry Usher Hall died in 1944.
What was Henry Usher Hall's occupation?
Henry Usher Hall was an anthropologist.
What nationality was Henry Usher Hall?
Henry Usher Hall was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Henry Usher Hall. https://biography.guide/henry-usher-hall/
MLA: "Henry Usher Hall." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/henry-usher-hall/.
Chicago: "Henry Usher Hall." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/henry-usher-hall/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 04:57 UTC