Ralph Herbert Turner (December 15, 1919–April 5, 2014) was an American sociologist who researched collective behavior and social movements.
His family moved to Pasadena when he was young; he often hiked and camped in the San Gabriel Mountains, becoming an Eagle Scout establishing a life-long love of nature.
He accepted a position as lecturer at University of California, Los Angeles in 1948 in their joint department for sociology and anthropology.
Altogether, about half of his scholarly publications involved collective behavior and social movements.
[2] Turner received a Fulbright grant in 1956 to conduct sociological research in England for a year.