ABSTRACT
Through his thirty years of collaboration with Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess was a major architect of the development of the Chicago School of Sociology, as well as a contributing author to its official story. Fueled by Park's disdain for social reform and "women do-gooders" and Burgess's own desire to create an empirical social science, Chicago both dominated and defined early American sociology. Burgess and Park outlined the foundations of the human ecology, including Burgess's own contribution, the concentric zone theory of urban expansion, which would define early Chicago sociology. In addition to his collaboration with Park in the development of the Chicago School, Burgess also made pioneering contributions in several other areas including juvenile delinquency and criminology, family, and, toward the end of his life, gerontology. In addition to his work at Chicago, Burgess was also active in several professional associations.
