Murray A. Straus

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Murray Arnold Straus (June 18, 1926 – May 13, 2016) was an American sociologist who taught at the University of New Hampshire. He created the Conflict Tactics Scale, the most widely used tool in research on family violence. His work focused on families, corporal punishment, and intimate partner violence, often comparing data across countries. He started the University of New Hampshire’s Family Research Laboratory. Straus led professional groups, serving as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (1989–90) and the Eastern Sociological Society (1991–92). He helped launch two journals as a founding editor: Teaching Sociology and Journal of Family Issues. He studied at the University of Wisconsin, earning B.A., M.S., and Ph.D., and was advised by William H. Sewell. He mentored students such as David Finkelhor. He was married to Dorothy Dunn Straus and had two children from a previous marriage. He died in 2016 at age 89.