Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, known as the "father of modern anthropology". He was also one of the central figures in the structuralist school of thought where his ideas reached into fields including the humanities and philosophy.

In 2008, Claude Lévi-Strauss became the first member of the Académie Française to reach the age of 100 and one of the few living authors to have his works published in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.

He died on 31 October 2009, a few weeks before his 101st birthday. His death was announced four days later. French President Nicolas Sarkozy described him as "one of the greatest ethnologists of all time". Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, said Lévi-Strauss "broke with an ethnocentric vision of history and humanity [...] At a time when we are trying to give meaning to globalisation, to build a fairer and more humane world, I would like Claude Lévi-Strauss's universal echo to resonate more strongly".