Bassett Family Association Database

William Marvin Bass, III

Male 1928 -

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  • Name William Marvin Bass 
    Suffix III 
    Birth 30 Aug 1928  Staunton, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Notes 
    • Wikipedia, July, 2019
      William M. Bass (Picture included)

      William Marvin Bass III (born August 30, 1928) is an American forensic anthropologist, best known for his research on human ostelology and human decomposition. He has also assisted federal, local, and non-U.S. authorities in the identification of human remains. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and though currently retired from teaching, still plays an active research role at the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, which he founded. The Facility is more popularly known as ?The Body Farm?, a name used by crime author Patricia Cornwell in a novel of the same name, which drew inspiration from Bass and his work. Bass has also described the body farm as "Death's Acre" ? the title of the book on his life and career, co-written with journalist Jon Jefferson. Jefferson and Bass, under the pen name "Jefferson Bass", have also written several fictional works: Carved In Bone, Flesh and Bone, The Devil's Bones, Bones of Betrayal, The Bone Thief, The Bone Yard, The Inquisitor's Key, Cut To the Bone, and The Breaking Point. Bass is the third generation in his family to have an educational building named after him. The Dr. William M. Bass III Forensic Anthropology Building dedication ceremony was September 27, 2011, near the Body Farm.
    Person ID I61442  1A William Bassett of Plymouth
    Last Modified 28 Mar 2026 

    Father William Marvin Bass, Jr.,   b. 20 Aug 1901, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Mar 1932, Staunton, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 30 years) 
    Mother Jennie Britton Hicks,   b. 1901   d. 1997 (Age 96 years) 
    Family ID F20674  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Mary Ann Owens   d. 1993 
    Children 
    +1. Charlie Bass,   b. 1956
    +2. William Marvin Bass, IV,   b. 1962
    +3. James Bass,   b. 1965
    Family ID F20675  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 28 Mar 2026 

    Family 2 Annette Blackbourne   d. 1997 
    Family ID F2966  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 28 Mar 2026 

    Family 3 Carol Lee Hicks,   b. 20 Jun 1937   d. 12 Nov 2025 (Age 88 years) 
    Family ID F2818  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 16 Nov 2025