Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Meggitt, Mervyn John
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1924-2004
History
Mervyn Meggitt served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II before enrolling at the University of Sydney, where he graduated with Double Honours. Meggitt's first fieldwork was with the Walbiri in Central Australia. He published Desert People based on his Walbiri study. His next field work location was in the Papua New Guinea Highlands, studying the Enga. Between 1955 and 1961 he spent 21 months in Papua New Guinea. During this time he was also a lecturer at the University of Sydney. Between 1962 and 1965 he took up a fellowship at Manchester University, followed by visiting professorships in the USA. In 1965 he returned to the United States as a professor at the University of Michigan. In the 1967 he moved to a position at Queens College, City University of New York, where he remained until his retirement as Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1992. He made his last visit to the Highlands in 1982.