Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones, American film character, an archaeologist and adventurer featured in a series of popular movies.
The film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), set in 1936, introduced Dr. Henry (“Indiana”) Jones, a young professor of archaeology and history at fictional Marshall College, whose extracurricular activities include grave robbing and swashbuckling and whose one great fear is snakes. In the film, he seeks to recover the biblical Ark of the Covenant ahead of the Nazis, who believe that possession of this object will give them superhuman powers. In later films, Jones dodges a bloodthirsty cult, thwarts a Communist plot, and reunites with his estranged father in a shared quest for the legendary Holy Grail.
American film producer George Lucas created the character as an homage to, and a reimagination of, the action-packed matinee serials he had enjoyed as a child. Steven Spielberg directed the films, also including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Comic-book artist and character designer Jim Steranko provided Jones with his iconic flight jacket, fedora, and bullwhip, and actor Harrison Ford gave the hero a charismatic on-screen presence. In recognition of his flattering portrayal of a rugged, adventurous archaeologist, Ford in 2008 was elected to the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Institute of America.