author
George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers
1890–1966
A British anthropologist and writer whose life moved from privilege and military service into increasingly controversial political territory. His books reflect both his interest in anthropology and the extreme racial ideas that shaped much of his public life.
1 Audiobook
Conscience & Fanaticism: An Essay on Moral Values
by George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers
About the author
Born in London on May 22, 1890, he was a member of the wealthy Pitt-Rivers family and served in the British Army before becoming known as an anthropologist and author. Archival and library records describe him as a writer on anthropology, and his published work includes The Clash of Culture and the Contact of Races.
His life is also closely tied to the darker politics of interwar Britain. Reliable reference sources describe him as a supporter of fascist causes, including Oswald Mosley, and note that he was interned by the British government during the Second World War.
He died in London on June 17, 1966. Today he is remembered less as a mainstream scholarly figure than as a complicated and deeply controversial one, whose writing is inseparable from the racial and political beliefs he promoted.