Robert Ezra Park (February 14, 1864 – February 7, 1944) was an American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology. From 1905 to 1914 Park worked with Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute. After Tuskegee, he taught at the University of Chicago, from 1914 to 1933, where he played a leading role in the development of the Chicago School of sociology. Park is noted for his work in human ecology, race relations, migration, assimilation, social movements, and social disorganization.