H. D. S.

“ He was not only a great psychologist and a great physician, but his distinction both in ethnological field work and in ethnological theory places him, it may well be believed, in the first place among the world's contemporary anthropologists. His largest and most original contribution to science was made in the recondite field of anthropological method, a department in which as yet he stands alone. ”

“ The intellectual power of Rivers combined with his varied accomplishments place him first among English anthropologists, and first probably among the contemporary anthropologists of the world. His earlier student years were spent in the study of medicine. From the study of the functions and diseases of the nervous system, he passed easily into the field of psychology, a science which remained the central ground of all his later studies. ”