Edward Westermarck

Who was Edward Westermarck?

Edvard Alexander Westermarck was a Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo.

The phenomenon of reverse sexual imprinting, now known as the Westermarck effect, was first formally described by him in his book The History of Human Marriage.

He has been described as "first Darwinian sociologist" or "the first sociobiologist".

He helped found academic sociology in the United Kingdom, becoming the first professor of sociology in 1907 in the University of London.

In the UK, his name is often spelled Edward. His sister, Helena Westermarck, was a writer and artist.