Jack Tobin

Who was Jack Tobin?

Jack Adair Tobin, Ph.D. was an American anthropologist who devoted much of his life to the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Tobin served in the United States Navy during World War II and was a survivor of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He enrolled at the University of Hawaii following the end of World War II, earning a bachelor's degree in anthropology. He studied under Dr. Leonard Mason, a leading specialist on Micronesia, who instilled Tobin's interest in the Marshall Islands.

In the early 1950s, Tobin attended a research trip to Arno Atoll. He became a district anthropologist for the Marshall Islands, then part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, shortly after the Arno research trip. He left the Marshalls and completed his doctorate in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. He returned to the Marshall Islands, where he worked as a community development officer.

Tobin moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, upon his retirement. In 2002, he released his best known book, Stories from the Marshall Islands.

Jack Tobin died in Honolulu on June 18, 2010.