Stephen Fuchs
Stephen Fuchs | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 30, 1908 Bruck an der Mur, Styria, Austria |
| Died | January 17, 2000 (aged 91) St. Gabriel, Mödling, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Occupation | Anthropologist |
| Known for | Research on the cultures of tribal and dalit peoples of India |
| Board member of | ex–editorial board member of Asian Folklore Studies |
| Awards | Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna (Ph.D.) |
| Influences | Wilhelm Schmidt |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Anthropology |
| Sub-discipline | Ethnology Ethnography |
| Institutions | Founder and ex–director of Institute of Indian Culture, Mumbai |
| Main interests | Ethnology and prehistory of India |
Stephen Fuchs (April 30, 1908 – January 17, 2000) was an Austrian Catholic priest, missionary, and anthropologist who researched the ethnology and prehistory of India. After obtaining a Ph.D. in ethnology and Indology from the University of Vienna in 1950, Fuchs moved to India where he assisted in founding the Department of Anthropology at St. Xavier's College in Bombay. After a brief imprisonment for being misidentified as a German missionary by the British government during World War II, Fuchs founded the Indian Branch of the Anthropos Institute, later renamed the Institute of Indian Culture. Fuchs, because of health concerns, moved to Austria in 1996 and died at the age of 91 in Mödling, Austria.
In his research, Fuchs conducted field studies in Central India. He focused particularly on the customs and beliefs of modern Indian tribes. Originally when he moved to India, he researched solely the social and cultural customs of modern-day central Indian tribes. After founding the Institute of Indian Culture, Fuchs researched the cultures of ancient India, back to India's original inhabitants.