Ruth Benedict
Anthropologist
American anthropologist who was one of the first woman to be considered a prominent leader of a learned profession.
She attended Vassar College before working as a graduate student with Franz Boas at Columbia University.
In her 1934 book, Patterns of Culture, she posited that there always existed a relationship between personality, art, language and culture.
Many people believe that she and Margaret Mead were lovers.
Franz Boas, who is considered the father of modern anthropology, was her teacher and mentor.