Anselm Leonard Strauss (December 18, 1916 – September 5, 1996) was an American sociologist

professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) internationally known as a medical
sociologist (especially for his pioneering attention to chronic illness and dying) and as the developer
(with Barney Glaser) of grounded theory, an innovative method of qualitative analysis widely used in
sociology, nursing, education, social work, and organizational studies. He also wrote extensively on
Chicago sociology/symbolic interactionism, sociology of work, social worlds/arenas theory, social
psychology and urban imagery. He published over 30 books, chapters in over 30 other books, and
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over 70 journal articles. [2]

Strauss, whose grandparents were German immigrants in the United States, was born in New York
City and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. His physician recommended that Strauss move to
Arizona after high school because he suffered from bronchial problems. However, he moved to the
University of Virginia in 1935, where he received his B.S. in Biology in 1939. From there he went to
the University of Chicago, where he received his M.A. in sociology (1942) and his Ph.D. in the same
field (1945). It was also there where he studied symbolic interactionism under Herbert Blumer.

During the years 1944 to 1947, Strauss was on the faculty of Lawrence College. From there he
moved to Indiana University (1946–1952), where he met and collaborated with Alfred Lindesmith; in
1949, they published their very influential book, Social Psychology. That volume was translated into
Swedish, German and Japanese and the eighth edition in English was published in 1999.

In 1952, Strauss returned to the University of Chicago as assistant professor. During that time, he
worked with Prof. Everett Hughes, and became associated with a group of colleagues who would
become known as the "Second Chicago School" (e.g., Howard S. Becker and Erving Goffman). In
[3]

1960, he went to the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco where he
founded the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He chaired the department until 1987,
although even as a professor emeritus he continued his research and teaching activities. During his
[4]

time as chair, he was a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1962 and 1970. [2]

While at the University of California, San Francisco, Strauss and Barney Glaser originated grounded
theory, which is widely used within qualitative research.

Strauss was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1980. In
that year he also received the Charles H. Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic
Interactionism. Between 1955 and 1980, he was an invited visiting professor at the universities of
Frankfurt and Konstanz in Germany, Cambridge and Manchester in England, Paris in France, and
Adelaide in Australia.