Herbert Blumer was president of the American Sociological Association (1956) and received its Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award in 1983. His pre-eminent contribution to sociology and social psychology is his formulation of a distinctive theoretical and methodological perspective known as symbolic interactionism. Emphasizing the salience of individual and collective processes of definition in shaping action, he crafted enduringly relevant and discipline-defining analyses of a host of subjects, including collective behavior, social movements, fashion, race relations, industrial and labor relations, social problems, morale, public opinion, social attitudes, social change, public sector social science research, and social psychology. Consistent with his pragmatist-informed perspective, he assigned social interaction the central role in creating, maintaining, and changing social reality.