Martin Hayes Bickham was born on October 7, 1880 in Churchtown, Pennsylvania. He received his A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1908. He was a student in the Sociology Department at the University of Chicago from 1912-1922 and received his A.M. in 1919 and his Ph.D. in 1922. His A.M. thesis was titled “The Relations of Sociology and Religion from 1865 to 1915.” His Ph.D. thesis, under the direction of Albion Small, was titled “The Scientific Antecedents of the Sociology of Auguste Comte.”
Prior to commencing his academic work at the University of Chicago, Bickham was appointed as secretary of the University of Chicago Christian Association in 1911. During World War I, he served with the Y.M.C.A in Paris. He was also an assistant coach for Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago for several years beginning in 1911.
Following his graduation with a Ph.D. in sociology in 1922, Bickham went on to become a practicing sociologist, conducting studies in such subjects as racism, poverty, and social life on American college campuses. He became an influential figure in urban social affairs, especially matters relating to equal opportunity, open housing and civil liberties in the Chicago area.
Martin Hayes Bickham died in Evanston, IL in 1976.
From the guide to the Bickham, Martin Hayes. Papers, 1911-1965, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)
