Ralph’s interest in anthropology began at an early age. In high school, he made a trip to Mexico that sparked his interest in Latin American cultures. He graduated from the University of California in 1926 with a Ph.D. in Anthropology. In 1936, he became the first anthropologist at University of California, Los Angeles. In 1950 he became President of the American Anthropological Association. From 1955 to 1956, he served on the Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies, and in 1958 he became President of the Southwestern Anthropological Association. He spent the majority of his professional career in teaching in California. Ralph Beals made great contributions to the studies of Anthropology and Sociology. His main theoretical interest was the warfare of native peoples. Beals wrote his comparative ethnography of northern Mexico, his monographs of the Cahita, and finally his study of Mexican culture from a Native American's point of view, a work that was never finished. Beals retired from his illustrious teaching career in 1969 and received an honorary Doctorate of Law in 1970. Throughout his life he had many accomplishments, awards, and writings. He prepared the first version of the Beals and Hoijer textbook, An Introduction to Anthropology,that was used for almost two decades. (Source: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/beals_ralph.html. See also: http://www.publicanthropology.org/Archive/Aa1986.htm )