Richard Helmut Grathoff is a phenomenologist in the Department of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. Born on August 30, 1934 in Unna, Westphalia, Germany, he received his Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in 1969 after studying under Aaron Gurwitsch, Thomas Luckmann and Peter L. Berger. Influenced by Charles Peirce, Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schutz, his work has included research in the topics of milieu and life-world and contemporary social theory. He currently resides in Oerlinghausen, Germany.