Franklin Henry Giddings

Franklin Henry Giddings (1855 to 1931) was an American sociologist, economist and journalist. Born at Sherman, Connecticut, he graduated from Union College in 1877 and for ten years wrote for newspapers including the Springfield Republican before turning to academic work. He lectured in political science at Bryn Mawr College from 1888 to 1894, joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1891 and became professor of sociology there in 1894. His most significant contribution is the concept of the consciousness of kind, the state of mind in which one conscious being recognizes another as being of like mind; he held that association, through communication, imitation, toleration, co-operation and alliance, leads a group to a self-consciousness from which traditions and social values can arise. He also coined the term collective behavior. His books include The Principles of Sociology (1896), Elements of Sociology (1898) and Inductive Sociology (1901), and in 1914 he became one of the inaugural Fellows of the American Statistical Association.