Margaret MEAD was a cultural anthropologist who is best known for her work in the fields of anthropology and sociology. She conducted extensive fieldwork in Samoa, New Guinea, and the United States, and wrote several books on her findings. Her most famous work, Coming of Age in Samoa, was published in 1928 and explored the effects of culture on individual development. MEAD's work has had a lasting impact on the field of anthropology and she is considered one of the most influential anthropologists of the 20th century.