Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown was a prominent British social anthropologist known for his work on social structures and functionalism, born on January 17, 1881, and passed away on October 24, 1955. He aimed to explore how societies function, form, and maintain social structures through various roles and institutions. His theories emphasize that society operates as a system of interrelated parts, similar to the human body, where the function of each part is crucial for the overall balance.