Edvard Alexander Westermarck was born into a prosperous middle class family in Helsinki on November 20, 1862. His father, Nils Christian Westermarck, was the bursar of the University and had strong links to the academic elite. Westermarck enrolled in the Imperial Alexander University to read aesthetics, modern literature and general history. He earned a Master’s degree, however, in the field of philosophy in 1886 with his thesis “Does culture make mankind happier?”

Westermarck was interested in sociology and anthropology. He learned English so that he could research a large body of material which was located in London. This data formed the basis of his book on the history of marriage. He defended his doctoral thesis on this subject at the University of Helsinki and was appointed as a docent a couple of years later. An extended version of his doctoral dissertation, entitled The History of Human Marriage, was published to critical acclaim in 1891. It went through five editions and was translated into eight languages.

At only twenty-eight years of age, Westermarck was already considered the most famous anthropologist of his time. Thanks to numerous grants, he was able to spend extended periods abroad. He had intended to begin his extensive research trip with Morocco in 1898, but he found that there was such an abundance of topics to study in Morocco that he made it the last stop in his tour. His ties to Morocco became so strong that he bought a villa in Tangiers, where he spent the last nine years of his life.

While he was in London, Westermarck was able to set up strong international ties. He became a lecturer in sociology at the London School of Economics in 1904. Three years later he was awarded a professorship, a post he held until 1930. In addition to his activities in London, he was granted a professorship in practical philosophy in Helsinki in 1906. From there, however, he was transferred to the newly-established Åbo Akademi University as a professor of philosophy. He later became the first rector of that university in 1918.

Special arrangements were made so that Westermarck could be in post at universities in both England and Finland, which meant he was able to be present at either of these places for only part of the year. In addition, he often arranged for the opportunity to do fieldwork in Morocco. Westermarck was one of the few Finns of his era who was truly a member of the international academic community.

Sources

• Olli Lagerspetz, Westermarck, Edvard. Filosofia.fi online. Accessed 18 March 2015.
• Jouko Aho, Westermarck, Edvard. National Biography of Finland online. Accessed 18 March 2015.
• Lars Hertzberg, Westermarck, Edvard. Biographical Dictionary of Finland online. The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland 2014. Accessed 18 March 2015. 
• Juhani Pietarinen, “Edvard Westermarck - Moraalifilosofian dinosaur” (‘Edvard Westermarck – A dinosaur of moral philosophy’ “Edvard Westermarck – A dinosaur of moral philosophy”, Tieteessä tapahtuu 7/1997[JM1] . Accessed 18 March 2015.