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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
August 23, 1926-February 8, 1991
BY HERBERT L. COSTNER
IN HIS EXCEPTIONALLY productive life, Hubert Blalock played
a major role in shaping the field of sociology during the
latter half of the twentieth century. His vision of social sci-
ence inspired his students and colleagues as much as his
teaching and writing instructed them. Although his life took
some surprising turns in his youth, his career as a sociolo-
gist was surprising only to those who underestimated his
commitment and creativity.
Hubert Morse Blalock, Jr., was born in Baltimore, Mary-
land, on August 23, 1926. His mother, born Dorothy Welsh,
was the daughter of a prosperous hat manufacturer in Bal-
timore. She met her future husband at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity where both were working toward a master's degree
in history. Hubert Blalock, Sr., was raised by his mother, a
widowed schoolteacher in North Carolina. Following comple-
tion of his master's degree
i
In history and a degree in law,
the elder Blalock accepted employment in the legal depart-
ment of the casualty division of the Aetna Casualty and
Surety Company of Hartford, Connecticut. He remained
with Aetna for his entire career and retired as a senior
officer of the company.
It was in West Hartford that Hubert Blalock, Jr., had his
23
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24
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
early schooling. Young Tad Blalock, whose childhood nick-
name lasted a lifetime, was a bright and active boy for whom
the public school program in the elementary grades was
not very challenging. As Tad was about to enter the seventh
grade, his parents decided that a private school might be
better able to channel his energies in constructive ways.
They selected the well-respected Loomis School, which was
relatively close to home and hence did not require Tad to
become a boarding student.
Young Blalock blossomed at his new school, especially in
mathematics. After the Loomis faculty noted how he raced
through the established mathematics curriculum, they de-
veloped more advanced courses especially for him. When
he graduated from the Loomis School in June 1944, World
War IT was under way. Tad knew that he would enter mili-
tary service shortly after he turned eighteen, but he had
time for one semester at Dartmouth before entering the
U.S. Navy in December 1944.
Nothing in his background had prepared eighteen-year-
old Tad Blalock for his two years in the Navy. Tad himself
later wrote:
I was a total misfit in the Navy, from the very first day when our Chief Petty
Officer delivered a speech ending with the sentence, "Remember, youse
guys, in the Navy you don't think!" (Blalock, 1988, p. 107)
Tad's mathematical aptitude landed him in radar train-
ing school in Chicago immediately after his induction. A1-
though he could readily master the textbook principles, he
found the hands-on applications tedious and uninteresting.
He requested a transfer to sea duty and soon found himself
assigned as a radio operator on a Landing Ship Tank (I=ST)
serving in and around Shanghai.
In the Nav,v Blalock first encountered the full variety of
American youth. He was more puzzled than pleased by his
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, OR.
25
new compatriots, and he cTicin't fit into the common rou-
tine of drinking, carousing, ant! hackneyed obscenities. When
their LST visited! Chinese port cities, Tad was appallecl to
fins! that some of his shipmates "delighted in their nightly
fisticuffs (and worse) with the so-called 'gooks"' (Blalock,
198S, p. 108~. For Tact Blalock the Navy providecl both an
eye-opening and a heart-rencling experience. It awakener!
in him a deep sympathy for those who were poor and sub-
servient and a vague commitment to make their lives bet-
ter.
In 1946, after completing his Navy service, Tacl Blalock
returnee! to Dartmouth, where he majored in mathematics.
He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 194S, awarclecl the
Thayer Mathematics Prize in 1949, anct in the same year
was accorded a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics,
summa cum laucte. But as a Dartmouth undergracluate he
tract also discovered new interests. His concern for the poor
and subservient, initially kincIlec3 by his Navy experience,
was reinforced by taking the "Great Issues" course required
of Dartmouth seniors. He had also fount! an off-campus
way of expanding his insights into the worIc! of the under-
privileged. He hac! become involved in the workshops of
the American Friends Service Committee. During the sum-
mer following completion of his bachelor's degree at
Dartmouth, Tac3 worked in a Quaker work camp in a black
area. He later reported that he "hacT always hac! a concern
about the treatment of blacks in America perhaps a
Myrciallian white guilt complex" (Blalock, 198S, p. 109~.
The Quaker summer camp provided his first experience of
daily contact with black people.
In the fall of 1949 Tacl starter! work on a master's degree
in mathematics at Brown University. There, he
discovered the meaning of "pure" mathematics, as well as the impact of
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26
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
absolutely horrible teaching. At about that time I began to realize that I
did not want to spend my lifetime being quite so pure, and that there was
something of an escape from reality in all of this. (Blalock, 1988, p. 109)
Tad remained at Brown for his master's degree, but in 1950
he shifted from mathematics to sociology "almost sight un-
seen." He had previously had only two sociology courses.
One of the friends whom Tad encounterer! in the work-
shops of the American Friends Service Committee was Ann
Bonar from West Virginia. Following her graduation from
Oberlin College in 1950, Ann hacI come to Boston as a
research assistant on a Harvarc! University enclocrinology
project at Massachusetts General Hospital. She spent her
weekends as a volunteer at Peabody House, a famous oIc3
West End settlement house. There in the fall of 1950 she
met Tact Blalock. He was a graduate student at Brown who
came to Boston about every other weekend to participate
in the Quaker workcamp at Peabody House.
Ann Bonar and Tad Blalock rapidity cliscoverecl their com-
mon values en cl interests. They first cliscussecl marriage while
walking around Walden Ponct, and Tad gave Ann an en-
gagement ring in the spring of 1951. They were married in
August 1951 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Ann's home-
town. They spent their honeymoon camping and canoeing
in the Adirondacks in New York. Tad's mother never quite
understood his unusual tastes, ant! she maligned him for
taking this fragile girl into the wilderness and making her
sleep on the ground for two weeks.
The newlyweds were both intent on continuing their eclu-
cation, Tact in sociology and Ann in social work. Having
searched intensively for a university with strong programs
for both, they decided on the University of North Carolina.
Professors Howarc! Oclum, Rupert Vance, and Guy Johnson
were the influential elders of the North Carolina Depart-
ment of Sociology at that time, but a somewhat younger
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
27
group of faculty members also influenced Tacl's academic
clevelopment. His interest in the use of statistics in social
research was fostered by Daniel Price, while Nicholas
Demerath influenced his thinking about sociological theory.
Guy Johnson was his principal mentor in the field of race
relations.
Tad spent only three years at North Carolina, a relatively
brief time for a sociologist to complete a Ph.D. By the time
he left in 1954, he had pushed himself through a demanct-
ing reacting program, completecl a minor in mathematical
statistics, and finished a dissertation. His dissertation raised
some eyebrows in the sociology department, where the es-
tablished practice was to undertake an empirical study for
the dissertation. Contrary to the usual practice Tacl's ctisser-
tation was an attempt to achieve a more systematic theoreti-
cal formulation in the field of race relations, drawing on
the work of Robin Williams, E. Franklin Frazier, and others.
Although new Ph.D.s in sociology were not in high de-
man(1 in 1954 Blalock was highly recommen(lecl by his men-
tors, and his first academic position was at the University of
Michigan. The prevailing practice at that time was for new
Ph.D.s to begin, not as assistant professors, but as instruc-
tors and to carry teaching Toacis that were consiclered, a
decacle later, inordinately burdensome. Twenty-eight-year-
oic! Tact Blalock, instructor in sociology, was in charge of
his department's statistics courses, both graduate and un-
clergraduate. He also taught introductory sociology and the
undergraduate course on research methods, ant! he served
as an academic counselor for unclergracluate majors and
incoming graduate students.
Enthusiasm notwithstanding, classroom teaching clicl not
come naturally to Instructor Blalock in his first years as a
faculty member. One of the first things he had to learn
about teaching was that everyone clid not grasp abstract
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28
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
mathematical concepts as reaclily as he clicI, and the panic
and tears of some of his early students in statistics courses
prompted him to devise teaching procedures that went be-
yond the usual classroom lecture. He worked to develop
improved ways of communicating with the students in his
classes. But, even more, he ctevotec3 aciclitional teaching and
consulting time to his students, offering extra sessions and
special assistance to those who wanted to take advantage of
them. Even in his first years of teaching, TacI showocI evi-
clence of the kind of concern and the extra time commit-
ment that were to earn for him the high respect of several
generations of students.
As clemancling as his teaching duties were in those early
years, Blalock rapidly started to accumulate a publication
record. He had tremendous energy and drive. He lovecI
what he was doing, and he frequently worker! late into the
evening and all through the weekend. During the first six
years following completion of his Ph.D. (1954-60), he pub-
lishecl eleven papers in scholarly journals, including papers
in The American Sociolo~caZ Review, The fournal of the Amera-
can Statistical Association, ant! SocialForces. Occasionally, Tad
and Ann Blalock published jointly, beginning in 1959 with
a paper in Philosophy of Science.
Other joint products of Tact and Ann cluring their years
at Michigan were two slaughters: Susan Lynn (1956) and
Kathleen Ann ~1958).
While the flurry of journal publications from 1956 to
1960 was sufficient in itself to suggest an unusually active
young scholar, another publication effort was uncler way. In
1960 the first edition of Social Statistics was published. Tad
later inclicatecl that, at the time, he was unaware of the
clisciain that some of his senior colleagues hac] for textbook
writing, especially in statistics rather than sociology. After
completing his manuscript, he was surprised to learn that it
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
29
would not be very beneficial in his tenure decision. Per-
haps it is fortunate that he didn't know; otherwise he might
not have written this outstanding and influential textbook.
In writing this volume, Blalock drew on his own training in
mathematics and statistics, but he wrote for social scientists
interested! in applying statistical techniques rather than for
mathematicians interested in the formal theory of statistics.
It was also evident that Blalock drew on his experience as a
teacher of statistics, and his book was clesigned to clarify
the funciamentals applied in social science research for stu-
clents lacking an extensive mathematical background. The
book was authoritative without being esoteric, ant! it was
student oriented without being oversimplifiecI. Adoptions
for classroom use were soon sufficiently numerous to make
the book a commercial as well as a peciagogical success.
In the fall of 1961 Blalock accepted an offer to become
an associate professor at Yale. His stay there was brief (three
years), but it was during this period that he produced a
series of publications on statistical procedures relevant to
causal inferences. His book titled Causal Inferences in
Nonexperimental Research, published in 1964, included an ex-
amination of prior philosophical discussions of cause ant!
effect, but its primary focus was the exploration of strate-
gies for making reasonable inferences about causal processes
from a combination of a priori assumptions and statistical
outcomes. He also published a number of papers on the
same general topic. Between 1961 and 1964 inclusive, he
published twelve papers in scholarly journals, primarily The
American journal of Sociology and The American Sociological Re-
view. His papers on causal inferences built on the founcia-
tion laid by Sewell Wright in the development of path analysis
four clecades earlier. He also built on structural equation
models c3 eveloped by econometricians since the ~ 930s.
Blalock's papers were wiclely react and were among the most
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30
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
influential papers in sociology during the decade. His name
was thereafter closely associated with causal models in the
thinking of sociologists, and his reputation as a sociologist
and statistical methodologist spread throughout the United
States and abroad.
Along with his growing reputation as a sociologist, Tad
Blalock's family was also growing at Yale. His son, lames
Welsh, was born in 1963, joining his sisters Susan and
Kathleen.
Responding to an offer of a full professorship, Blalock
moved in 1964 to the University of North Carolina, where
he remained until 1971. His years as a faculty member at
North Carolina were highly productive. At North Carolina
he produced three books and coedited a fourth with his
wife, Ann. Two of these books were especially influential.
Toward a Theory of Minority Group Relations, published in
1967, was a continuation of the work undertaken in his
Ph.D. dissertation. Citations to this work continue after twenty-
f~ve years. In 1969 he published Theory Construction: From
Verbal to Mathematical Formulations, in which he described a
mode of theory construction intended to help bridge the
gap between traditional sociological theory and empirical
research. This short book is appropriately seen as an exten-
sion of his earlier work on causal inferences.
The papers produced during Tad Blalock's period as a
North Carolina faculty member were even more influential
than his books of that period. While at North Carolina, he
published twenty-one papers on a variety of substantive and
methodological topics. His most influential papers of this
period were concentrated in two areas. First, he presented
a set of papers on methodological problems entailed in
testing theories of status inconsistency. The theme in these
papers was the intractable nature of certain formulations of
the theory because the set of equations associated with those
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
31
formulations was undericlentif~ecI. The importance of these
papers lay, not simply in their relevance for status inconsis-
tency theory, as then formulated, but in making the more
general point that verbal formulations of theoretical icleas
frequently make it clifficult to recognize logical flaws, hark-
ing back to one of the points in Theory Construction: From
Verbal to Mathematical Formulations.
The second set of influential papers published during
Tad's period as a faculty member at North Carolina per-
tainecT to conceptualization ant! measurement in social re-
search. In these papers the pervasive feature is representa-
tion of the relationship between concepts and their empirical
indicators in the form of a causal moclel. This representa-
tion allowed him to explore measurement error and its
implications for multiple regression, path analysis, and struc-
tural equation moclels. This was to be one of the continu-
ing themes in his work for the remainder of his life.
Tad's publications brought him increasing recognition,
and this was reflected in his invitation to serve on eclitorial
boards or as an associate editor for several journals. He hacl
earlier ~1962-64) served as an associate editor of The Ameri-
can Sociological Review, and in the late 1960s he was invited
to serve in a similar role for The American Journal of Sociol-
ogy, Social Problems, en cl Sociological Methodology. He was electecl
to serve on the Council of the American Statistical Associa-
tion in 1970 and on the Council of the American Sociologi-
cal Association in 1971.
Although Tad hac3 a highly congenial set of departmental
colleagues at the University of North Carolina, he felt that
the university was not in step with the spirit of the times.
Influenced by the civil rights movement ant! the antiwar
movement, there was a spirit of moral change in the coun-
try at the encI of the 1960s. Tact hacl Tong been an advocate
for civil rights, ant! he was pleaser! to see that American
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32
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
universities were in the vanguard of change. On the other
hand, the University of North Carolina seemec! to him to
be unduly influenced. by a faculty and administration that
were intent on preserving ctiscreditec! traditions. Among
other things, Tac3 believer! the university was failing to re-
cruit black students with genuine vigor. In an unrelated
matter pertaining to a young faculty member, when the
most conservative elements in the university took actions
that Tad consicierect unwarranted and unfair, it was the pro-
verbial straw that broke the camel's back. Tad decider! to
seek a suitable position at another university.
After careful consideration of several options, Tad ac-
ceptecI an offer to join the University of Washington faculty
in the fall of 1971. There he continued to play a vital role
in the training of graduate students, ant! he was the recipi-
ent of numerous honors.
Tacl's many publications ant! other achievements cluring
his Washington years can probably best be summarized by
considering them in two sets: those prior to ~ 980 and those
that came in 1980 or later. In the earlier of these periods
(1971-79), Tad was the author or coauthor of three books
and the editor or coeditor of three additional volumes. In
these books he further clevelopec! his work on familiar top-
ics, notably quantitative research methoclology and race re-
lations. The book of this period that was most influential
was probably an editec! volume published in 1971 with the
title Causal Models in the Social Sciences. In this collection
Tad brought together papers by several authors, including
some papers published for the first time. This collection
served as a major resource for the further clevelopment
ant! application of causal moclels in social science research.
In 1973 Tad received the Stouffer Award, presented by
the American Sociological Association in recognition of his
outstanding contributions to sociological research anc! re-
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
33
search methoclology. He was made a fellow of the American
Statistical Association in 1974 and a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1975. He was electec! to
the National Academy of Sciences in 1976 and served as
president of the American Sociological Association in 1978-
79. Such exaTtecl recognition must have macle an impres-
sion on TacI, but the only change in his behavior evident to
colleagues ant! students was an increase in his energy. It
A
was almost as if he were intent on convincing everyone
around him that he was not unduly impressed by his own
success and that he wasn't going to rest on his laurels.
As president of the American Sociological Association,
Tact was persistent in his attempts to improve the discipline.
In his presiclential report to the membership (Footnotes, Au-
gust 1979), he urged the association to give continuing at-
tention to several important matters, three of which repre-
sentec! well his own long-term personal and professional
commitments: improving the training of sociologists, up-
gracling the quality of un(lergracluate teaching in sociology,
ant] enhancing the standing of sociological research as a
basis for social action anc} public policy decisions. ~
Unclergracluate teaching en cl the improved training of
sociologists were matters of persistent concern to Tact. He
was a superb exemplar of a committed teacher, and he was
an active participant in the programs of the association de-
votecl to improving unclergra(luate education. Scores of graclu-
ate students—many from (disciplines other than sociology-
considered Tad's courses one of the highlights of their
graduate training. Tact was always emphasizing for his col-
leagues the neecl to upgrade graduate training and to up-
gracle skills in postdoctoral training programs. He subse-
quently publisher! papers on quality training for sociology
graduate students.
Tad's interest in enhancing the standing of sociological
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34
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
research as a basis for social action and public policy cleci
signs was central to his own conception of sociology. He
was committee! to developing the king! of sociology that
would be useful in application while also meeting the most
exacting standarcis of methodological rigor and theoretical
sophistication. To Tacl's chagrin, many of his fellow sociolo-
gists saw these objectives as mutually incompatible. They
commonly expected an applied sociologist to have limiter!
interest in theory development and little commitment to
improving research methodology. Furthermore, many ex-
pected a sociological theorist to be clisciainful of applica-
tions ant! indifferent to empirical studies. And a widely held
stereotype portrayecl the empirical researcher in sociology
as contemptuous of theory and lacking in concern for ap-
pliec3 or policy concerns. But for Tac! these three elements-
general theory, sounc! empirical research, and policy rel-
evance—constitutes! an integrated whole toward which the
discipline shoulc! always strive. His interest in improving
research methodology and his concern for the development
of sounc! theory were primarily means to make the field
more relevant to action en cl policy problems. The social
conscience that Tacl clevelopect as a very young man and
that was nurtured by the workshops of the American Friends
Service Committee ant! his explorations in the field! of race
relations was still with him as president of the American
Sociological Association.
Eight of the ten papers Tad published between 1971 and
1979 inclusive were clevoted to issues pertaining to social
science conceptualization and measurement. One of these
was the published version of his 1979 presidential acicTress
to the American Sociological Association. His title was "Mea-
surement and Conceptualization Problems: The Major Ob-
stacle to Integrating Theory and Research." It was evident
that Tact believed that conceptualization and measurement
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
35
problems were serious impediments to the continuing de-
velopment of sociology, and he was not optimistic about
the prospects for much progress in resolving such prob-
lems in his lifetime. The pessimistic tone and the high level
of abstraction of his presidential address did not make it a
crows! pleaser. But pleasing the crows! en cl oversimplifying
complex issues hacl never been high in Tad's priorities, and
he consi(lerec! it important to highlight for his sociological
colleagues some difficult problems that needed resolution.
By 1980 Tact hac! accumulates! an impressive record of
achievements. He was a sociologist with an international
reputation; he hacI been elected to membership in the
nation's most prestigious scientific organization; and he hacl
just completecl a term as president of the national organi-
zation for members of his discipline. But at fifty-four he was
far too energetic ant! vigorous to be satisfier! simply being
an elcler statesman. He continued working.
In 1982 he was selected to present the Annual Faculty
Lecture at the University of Washington. In 1983-84 he served
as vice-chair of the University of Washington Faculty Sen-
ate, and in 1984-85 he serves! as the chair of that body. This
office brought with it a host of committee and aciministra-
tive responsibilities, including ex officio membership on
the Boarc! of Regents. He immersed himself in these activi-
ties, and his penetrating questions cliff not always endear
him to the university administration. But his straightfor-
warcl style, his questioning attitude, his strong commitment
to fairness, and his fervent defense of scholarly values gave
him an enthusiastic following among the faculty.
Even as he was heavily engaged in the activities of the
University of Washington Faculty Senate, his commitment
to teaching dill not falter and his scholarly productivity (lid
not decline. In the early 198Os he authorec! three books,
edited! a volume of selected papers from the 1979 meeting
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36
BIOGRAPHICAL
EMOIRS
of the American Sociological Association, and coedited a
collection of works on teaching sociology. He was also the
author or coauthor of eight papers in the first half of the
clecac3 e.
Few people knew in 1984—and no one who didn't know
wouIc! have guessed that Tad hac! a serious health prob-
lem. During a routine hernia operation, he was found to be
suffering from a rare form of abclominal cancer. He was
toic3 that there was no cure. He was also toicl that the can-
cer was relatively slow growing ant! that the major treat-
ment wouIcT be periodic surgery.
Tacl undoubtedly unclerstooc3 all that the specialists toIct
him about his condition. He probably believed them. But it
was almost as if his cancer en c! the threat it posed to his life
never seemed real enough to him to be worthy of cliscus-
sion. Even with family members he declined to discuss his
disease and his altered life expectancy. It was not a topic he
broached with colleagues; he could always final more inter-
esting and more productive things to talk about.
Even so, beginning about 1987, an examination of Tacl's
work suggests that he had macle a subtle change in his
scholarly agenda, in recognition of his deteriorating health.
After that ciate, his papers appeared primarily in edited
collections, as if he were fulfilling commitments to a few
colleagues to prepare a paper for their special volumes.
, at. . · . .. .
~ ne two major works that ne completed in the few years
remaining before his death reach for a new level of gener-
ality. A longtime student of race relations, TacI had, of course,
also been a student of social conflict and the exercise of
power as exemplified in race relations. In Power and Conflict
Processes: Toward a General Theory, Tad no longer focuses
specifically on race relations; rather, he examines power
and conflict more abstractly, considering the relevant pro-
cesses in all contexts, including, but not limited to, the
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
37
context of race relations. Similarly, in Understanding Social
Inequality: Modelling Allocation Processes, TacT goes beyond the
specific features of inequality entailecI in the stratification
of racial groupings to explore general processes that create
and sustain social inequality. These two books are a fitting
capstone for Tact's Tong series of publications. They em-
bocly his persistent conviction that sociology must develop
systematic and general theoretical formulations with clear
links to the empirical worIcI. They illustrate his belief that
common explanations for social phenomena are overly sim-
plistic and hence lack the capacity to advance unclerstanc3-
ing. They address pressing public policy problems in ways
that are intenclec! to provide guidelines for potential social
change. An cl his argument is presented in the form of care-
fully formulated causal moclels, a form that became promi-
nent in sociology largely through his work.
Even as he continued to work, medical treatments peri-
oclically interrupted Tacl's schecluTe. The treatments were
risky and painful, ant! each required weeks of recovery. Be-
tween treatments, abdominal blockages created pain, in-
creasingly severe clietary restrictions, ant! continuing weight
Toss. Long before his retirement in ~ 989, Tac3 's cleteriorat-
ing health was evident to all who saw him.
In the spring of 1989 Tac3 retired from active faculty sta-
tus to become professor emeritus. During that spring the
Department of Sociology at the University of Washington
sponsorec! a lecture series in Tacks honor. Eight ctistinguished
scholars whose work was relater! in some way to Tad's were
brought to Seattle to present public lectures on their cur-
rent work and recent finclings. As the 1988-89 academic
year drew to a close, the Department of Sociology celebrated
Tacl's career with a retirement dinner, complete with remi-
niscing speakers and testimonial toasts. Tad was on such a
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38
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
heavily restricted cliet that he could not enjoy the feast, but
he evidently enjoyocl the event.
Tacl's brief period as professor emeritus was a period of
continuing physical clecline despite his tenacious will to live
and a determination to continue his work. While recover-
ing from his final surgery, he read proofs for his last book.
He was notified by telephone that he was the 199:1 recipi-
ent of the American Sociological Association's Lazarsfelct
Awarc! four days before he cried on February 8, 1991. The
Persian Gulf War was uncler way, and Tad spent his final
clays analyzing recent developments in the MidcIle East in
light of the general principles he hac! cliscussed in Power
and Conflict Processes: Toward a General Theory.
To the end of his life, Tad remained a person of great
inner strength, sustained by the remarkably warm and close
relationship that he and Ann maintained for nearly forty
years. To many he was an inspiring figure of great personal
warmth. In the worcis of the LazarsfelcI Award citation, "
· . .
To colleagues, friends, and scores of former students, he
was known simply and very affectionately as 'TacI,' and
his image as an internationally renowned sociologist is in-
extricably mixed with his image as a kinc! and generous
human being who has enriched the lives of many" (Foot-
notes, April ~ 99 ~ ~ .
~ AM INDEBTED TO Ann Blalock for providing much information
about Tad's life that would otherwise have been inaccessible to me.
Her assistance has greatly enriched this memoir and eased the task
of writing it. Tad's own partial biographical sketch, titled "Socializa-
tion to Sociology by Culture Shock," was a helpful resource more
often than one might infer from the explicit citations to it.
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, jR.
RE F E RE N C E S
39
Blalock, H. M. Socialization to Sociology by Culture Shock. In Socio-
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HUBERT MORSE BLALOCK, JR.
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r ~~ [~rf A: 7~ ~ ~7 A. Beverly Hills:
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
hubert morse