Kramer, Samuel Noah

Kramer, Samuel Noah (1897–1990) Sumerologist, author, museum curator; born near Kiev, Russia. He came to the United States with his family in 1919 and was educated at Temple University (B.A. 1921) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D. 1929). His career as a leading authority on Sumerian language and literature began with a major expedition to Iraq in 1930–31, during which he excavated and translated Sumerian tablets. He became curator of the tablet collections at Pennsylvania's University Museum in 1950 as well as Clark research professor in Assyriology there (1950–68). His many publications include History Begins at Sumer (1959) and The Cradle of Civilization (1967).