Margaret Mead was the only anthropologist ever required to join the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, a union that counted many professional entertainers as members. Though unusual for a scientist, this was typical for Margaret. She was at home in virtually any setting: doing field work in Samoa, meeting with her colleagues, or speaking to millions of television viewers on the "Tonight Show." Like Albert Einstein, she was one of few scientists to become a household name.

Margaret was born in Philadelphia in 1901. Both her parents earned academic distinctions. Her father was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. Her mother earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and was active in social causes, including the fight to gain voting rights for women. Wanting her children to grow up without any taint of prejudice, she encouraged Margaret to play with children of all races and social classes. As result, Margaret said, she was "brought up in a culture two generations ahead of her time."

Margaret attended Barnard College, the school for women at Columbia University. Early in her academic career she flirted with poetry and painting, joining a group of outspoken intellectuals nicknamed the "Ash Can Cats." Concerned about her ability to excel in the arts, she opted for a career in the social sciences instead.

Margaret earned her doctorate from Columbia, where she met Franz Boas, one of the founders of anthropology. Margaret got hooked on the subject and soon was sailing for the South Seas islands to do field work. The result was her famous trilogy of books: Coming of Age in Samoa, Growing Up in New Guinea, and Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies. Had she produced only these three books, Margaret's reputation as a leading anthropologist would have been assured. Yet her South Seas trilogy was only the beginning. A complete bibliography of her published work would run over 100 pages. Several of her books became best sellers and remain popular today. Margaret's reputation rested not only on her intellectual prowess but her high energy level. Often her day began at 5 a.m. with reading and writing and continued past midnight with meetings, classes, and speaking engagements. In addition, she served as a member or president of countless associations, including the U.S. Commission on the Year 2000, the Teilhard Center for the Future of Mankind, and the World Council of Churches.

Margaret was one of the first women to be widely identified as a feminist. Three times married and divorced, she kept her maiden name long before it was common to do so. She succeeded not only in higher education but in anthropology--two fields traditionally dominated by males.

For 17 years, Margaret co-wrote a monthly column in Redbook magazine, reaching millions of faithful readers. There she practiced her gift for explaining the social sciences in a way that captivated lay-people. In the column she tackled topics ranging from breast feeding and premarital sex to the arms race and genetic engineering.

One reason for Margaret's notoriety was her colorful speaking. When asked by a reporter whether her divorces undermined her credibility as a commentator on families, she minced no words:

"I don't consider my marriages as failures! It's idiotic to assume that because a marriage ends, it's failed."

Evidence of Margaret's creativity and critical thinking came in her proposals for social reform. For example, she considered education so valuable that she advocated paying students to attend college. A related idea was that mandatory national service replace the military draft. She also called for trial or "student" marriages. Only if successful would these relationships evolve into mature, long-term marriages that produced children.

Margaret died in 1978 at age 76. Few people knew that she had cancer since she maintained a full schedule until a few days before her death.

One of her students asked Margaret to provide her own epitaph. Margaret's reply was modest: "She lived long enough to be of use." In reality, her contribution was far greater. As biographer Robert Cassidy noted, Margaret was so influential that she "helped shape the American family's image of itself."