Morris Swadesh

Morris Swadesh ( born January 22, 1909 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, † July 20, 1967 in Mexico City) was an American linguist.

Morris Swadesh was the son of Russian immigrants of Jewish faith. He studied at the University of Chicago and Yale University, where he received his doctorate. During the Second World War he worked on military projects.

In May 1949, Swadesh, was working at the City College of New York, dismissed, because it was allegations against him, he would be a communist. In 1954 he got a position as Full Professor at the Instituto Nacional Politécnico in Mexico City, where he remained until his death.

Swadesh is the creator of traditional glottochronology.

Its designed for this purpose test lists are often called Swadesh lists (see links).