Prof. Murray Barnson Emeneau (1904-2005) a scholar in Anthropology, Indology and Linguistics was born in Canada on February 28, 1904. He did B.A. from Dalhousie University, Halifax (1923) and from Oxford University (1926) and also did M.A. from Oxford in 1931 and received Doctoral Degree from Yale University in 1935.

Emeneau taught Latin (1926-1931) and Anthropology (1938-39) at the Yale University. From 1940 to 1946, he served as Assistant Professor of Sanskrit and General linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He was made a full Professor in 1946. He served as the Chairman of the Department of Linguistics (1953-1959) as well as that of the Department of Classics. Emeneau taught at the University of California until 1971. He was later made professor Emeritus of Sanskrit and General Linguistics by the UC-Berkeley. He served as the president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1949.

Prof. Emeneau was well known for his research on the concept of "linguistic Area". He made immense contributions to Anthropology, Sanskrit and Folklore studies, in addition to Dravidian studies. It was during 1935-1938 that Emeneau visited India and conducted field work on a number of tribal languages like Toda, Kota, and Kolami. After this intensive field work, a large number of linguistic studies were also added to his anthropological and classical studies. On comparative Dravidian, Emeneau published studies like Dravidian Kinship Terms (1953), Numerals in Comparative Linguistics (with special reference to Dravidian) (1958) and The South Dravidian Languages (1967).

A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (known as DED), published in 1961, was a monumental work of M.B. Emeneau and Thomas Burrow (1909-1986), his colleague and another outstanding Indologist. About ten years of hard work drawing on years of field work and theoretical study went into the formation of the DED which has a place among the great lexicographic works of the world. Emeneau's contribution to Ethnography, Folklore and Oral Traditions is also invaluable. Other than the DED, his major publications were Dravidian Linguistics, Ethnology and Folktales (1967), Collected papers (1958), Kota Texts(1944-1946), Kolami: A Dravidian Language (1955), Toda Songs (1971), Toda Grammar and Texts (1984), Dravidian Borrowings form Indo-Aryan (1962) and Language and Linguistic Area (1980).

His variety of works includes foreword for different books for example:

• Comparative Dravidian Linguistics: Current Perspectives By: Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju; Oxford, England: Oxford UP xxvi, 417 pp.
• The Life of Language By: Hill, Jane H. (ed.); Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter xii, 509pp.
• Sociolinguistic Attitudes in India: An Historical Reconstruction By: Deshpande, Madhav M.; Ann Arbor: Karoma 162 pp.

He reviewed more than 90 documents and his works also have been reviewed by others. For example:

• Zvelebil, Kamil V. Reviews the book `Dravidian Studies: Selected Papers,' by M.B. Emeneau. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Apr-Jun96, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p362,
• Annamalai, E. A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary: Supplement. By T. Burrow and M.B.Emeneau. Journal of Asian Studies, 1969; 28: 875-76.

During 2005 his birth centenary was celebrated in different institutions all over India such as:

• The Dravidian Linguistic Association, during its 32nd Annual conference at Warangal had a session on his contribution.
• Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore organized Prof. M.B.Emeneau Centenary International Conference on South Asian Linguistics from 1-4 January 2005.
• ICOSAL during 6-8 January 2005 Hyderabad too had a special session devoted to his contributions.

Prof. Emeneau was the longest living western Indologist of great distinction. In the early hours of August 29, he passed away in his sleep at the age of 101 in his house in Berkeley, California.