(1901–1978) Anthropologist, deeply engaged observer of cultures best known for her seminal work on adolescent development in Samoa. Her influence eventually reached to the United Nations, the science establishment, and the Episcopal Church. As an authority on rites of passage she helped draft parts of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer dealing with baptism and confirmation, and argued to preserve old stories used in the Easter Vigil for their power in creating living ritual.