A sociologist deeply concerned with education, James S. Coleman was born in Bedford, Indiana, on May 12, 1926, to James Fox and Maurine Lappin Coleman. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1944-1946) and graduated from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (1949). Coleman became a chemical engineer with Eastman-Kodak, Rochester, New York, but was soon so fascinated with social problems that he went on to Columbia University in New York City. He earned a Ph.D. in 1955 while working as a research associate with the Bureau of Applied Social Research (1953-1955). During that time, he became interested in the work of Paul Lazarsfeld, the Austrian-born sociologist whose studies concerning mass media's influence on society have become classics.

After a year (1955-1956) as a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study of Behavioral Science, Palo Alto, California, Coleman joined the University of Chicago as assistant professor of sociology...