Kroeber, Theodora (1897–1979)
Kroeber, Theodora (1897–1979)
American writer and anthropologist. Born Theodora Kracaw (also seen as Krakow) on Mar 24, 1897, in Denver, CO; died July 1979 in Berkeley, CA; dau. of Phebe Johnston Kracaw and Charles Kracaw (general-store owners in Telluride, CO); University of California, Berkeley, BA, 1919, MA, 1920; m. Clifton Spencer Brown (died Oct 1923); m. Alfred Kroeber (anthropologist), 1926; m. John H. Quinn (artist and psychotherapist), 1969; children: (1st m.) Clifton Jr., and Theodore Brown; (2nd m.) Karl Kroeber and Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929, fiction writer).
With Alfred Kroeber, made trip to Peru and dug primarily in Nazca Valley (1926); conducted extensive research about Ishi, who was the sole survivor of the Yahi group (Northern California tribe); established her reputation with Ishi in Two Worlds (1961) which is considered a modern classic. Other works include The Inland Whale (1959), Almost Ancestors (with Robert F. Heizer, 1968), Alfred Kroeber: A Personal Configuration (1970), and Drawn from Life (with Heizer, 1976).