Ben Finney, Date of Birth, Date of Death

Ben Finney

American anthropologist concentrating in surfing, Polynesian navigation and canoe sailing, and human space colonization

Date of Birth: 01-Oct-1933

Date of Death: 23-May-2017

Profession: historian, anthropologist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Ben Rudolph Finney (October 1, 1933 – May 23, 2017) was an American anthropologist known for his expertise in the history and the cultural and social anthropology of surfing, Polynesian navigation, and canoe sailing, as well as in the cultural and social anthropology of human space colonization.
As “surfing’s premier historian and leading expert on Hawaiian surfing going back to the 17th century” and “the intellectual mentor, driving force, and international public face” of the Hokulea project, he played a key role in the Hawaiian Renaissance following his construction of the Hokulea precursor Nalehia in the 1960s and his co-founding of the Polynesian Voyaging Society in the 1970s.