Erdman Ballagh Palmore (born June 3, 1930) is an American gerontologist. He is Professor Emeritus of Medical Sociology at Duke University and has written several books, including Facts on Aging Quiz, and numerous articles on aging. Biography Palmore was born June 3, 1930 in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi, Japan to missionary parents. An American citizen, he was raised in Virginia. Palmore served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 and is married with two children. He graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 1952; received a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago in Illinois in 1954 and a Ph.D from Columbia University in New York City in 1959, all in Sociology. He taught at Finch College in New York City and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut from 1960 to 1963. The roots of Palmore's research on ageism began when he was a student at the University of Chicago in the 1950s and was conducting research on racism. Noting the similarity between stereotypes of African Americans and older people, he began research on ageist stereotyping. As a Professor, he developed the Facts on Aging Quiz in order to gain the attention of students on the first day of class. In 1990, he published a textbook summarizing the theories and research about ageism. Palmore has become a role model for successful aging by challenging ageist stereotypes. One way he has achieved this success is by becoming physically stronger through activities such as weightlifting; he rides his age in miles once a year on his bicycle, and chooses a different adventure to participate in every year on his birthday. Career highlights and accomplishments At Duke University, Palmore has been coordinator for the Duke Longitudinal Studies and Principal Investigator of several research projects. He is a Fellow of both the American Sociological Society and the Gerontological Society of America, and has served as President of the Southern Gerontological Society. His research and teaching interests include race relations, retirement, longevity, life satisfaction, health, and international gerontology. Currently he is a Professor Emeritus of Medical Sociology at the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Awards, honors, and distinctions Palmore was the recipient of the Outstanding Academic Book of the Year award for the International Handbook on Aging by Choice Magazine in 1980-81. He received the award for Distinguished Academic Gerontologist from the Southern Gerontological Society in