Daugherty, Richard D., 1922-2014

Biographical note

Richard Deo Daugherty was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1922. During World War II, he served as blimp pilot in the U.S. Navy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 1946 from the University of Washington in 1946, followed by a doctorate in ethnology in 1964. From 1953 to 1982, he taught archaeology at Washington State University in Pullman, where he became an assistant professor after completing his doctorate. As an archaeologist, he worked in cooperation with Native tribes in Washington to preserve culturally significant sites and artifacts. He also worked closely with Washington's U.S. senators on the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which required governments to conduct and archaeological investigation before beginning construction on government projects. Daugherty is best known for his work with the Makah people at the Ozette village site on Washington's Olympic Peninsula in the 1970s. Richard Daugherty died in 2014.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Daugherty in his interview; “Dr. Richard Daugherty dies; he unearthed Makah Tribe artifacts,” by Emily Heffter, Seattle Times, February 28, 2014, (accessed February 2026), https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dr-richard-daugherty-dies-he-unearthed-makah-tribe-artifacts/; “Richard Daugherty dies at 91; archaeologist studied Makah tribe site,” by Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2014, (accessed February 2026), https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-richard-daugherty-20140303-1-story.html.

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