George Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers (22 May 1890 – 17 June 1966) was a British
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
and
eugenicist
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
who was one of the wealthiest men in England in the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and became a supporter of
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
, which led to him being interned by the British government for two years during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Life
Pitt-Rivers was born in London, his birth registered under the surname Fox in
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. He was a son of Alexander Edward Lane Fox-Pitt-Rivers (2 November 1855 – 19 August 1927) and his wife Alice Ruth Hermione, daughter of
Lord Henry Thynne
Lord Henry Frederick Thynne PC DL (2 August 1832 – 28 January 1904) was a British Conservative politician. He served under Benjamin Disraeli as Treasurer of the Household between 1875 and 1880.
Background
Thynne was the second son of ...
. His father was the eldest son of
Augustus Pitt Rivers
Lieutenant General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (14 April 18274 May 1900) was an English officer in the British Army, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for innovations in archaeological methodology, and in the museum display o ...
, ethnologist and anthropologist and founder of the
Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed t ...
, upon whose death in 1900 Alexander inherited the Pitt-Rivers estate. After Alexander died in 1927, the estate was inherited by George and it was so large that "it was said, albeit with exaggeration, that he could ride from coast to coast without leaving his own land".http://epc2014.princeton.edu/papers/141068
He was a Captain in the
5th Dragoon Guards
The 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a British army cavalry regiment, officially formed in January 1686 as Shrewsbury's Regiment of Horse. Following a number of name changes, it became the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) ...
and took part in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was wounded in the
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...
and subsequently sent to England for surgery and recuperation. After the war he published a book ''The World Significance of the Russian Revolution'', the first of his anti-Bolshevik and anti-Semitic public activities. During 1922–25, Pitt-Rivers held the position of
Principal Secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries.
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan
* Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...
Lord Forster
Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936) was a British politician who served as the List of Governors-General of Australia, seventh Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1920 to 1925. He had previ ...
, the
Governor-General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Maori led to his lasting interest in anthropology, which he studied at Oxford under
Bronisław Malinowski
Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish-British anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropol ...
.
In 1927 he attended the
World Population Conference
The first ever World Population Conference was held at the Salle Centrale, Geneva, Switzerland, from 29 August to 3 September 1927. Organized by the forerunner of the United Nations, the League of Nations, and Margaret Sanger; the conference was an ...
and published a book ''Clash of Cultures and the Contact of Races''. Two years later, Pitt-Rivers was elected a fellow of the
Royal Anthropological Institute
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
; he also represented the
Eugenics Society
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
at the
International Federation of Eugenics Organizations The International Federation of Eugenic Organizations (IFEO) was an international organization of groups and individuals focused on eugenics. Founded in London in 1912, where it was originally titled the Permanent International Eugenics Committee, i ...
Eugen Fischer
Eugen Fischer (5 July 1874 – 9 July 1967) was a German professor of medicine, anthropology, and eugenics, and a member of the Nazi Party. He served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics, ...
and his assistant Lothar Loeffler. During this time, he also became increasingly embroiled in politics, praising the ideas of
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
and
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
Pitt-Rivers was held in
Brixton Prison
HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
The prison was originally built in 1820 and opened a ...
and Ascot internment centre (1940–1942) during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as a
Mosleyite
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
sympathiser under the
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was one of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during and before the Second World War. The complete name for the rule was Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regula ...
.
George Pitt-Rivers died in 1966.
Personal life
George Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers was twice married; firstly to the Hon. Rachel Forster (daughter of the 1st Baron Forster) on 22 December 1915; the marriage was dissolved in 1930. They had two sons:
*
Michael Pitt-Rivers
Major Michael Augustus Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers (27 May 1917 – December 1999) was a West Country landowner who gained notoriety in Britain in the 1950s when he was put on trial charged with buggery. This trial was instrumental in bringing publ ...
(1917–1999), a
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...
landowner who gained national notoriety in the 1950s when he was put on trial charged with buggery. This trial was instrumental in bringing public attention—and opposition—to the laws against homosexuality as they then stood;
*
Julian Pitt-Rivers
Julian Alfred Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers (16 March 1919 – 12 August 2001) was a British social anthropologist, an ethnographer, and a professor at universities in three countries.
Family background
Pitt-Rivers was a great-grandson of the archaeologi ...
(1919–2001), a social anthropologist, ethnographer, and university professor.
Pitt-Rivers married secondly, on 14 October 1931, Rosalind Venetia Henley (4 Mar 1907 – 1990), a biochemist, whose parents were Brigadier-General the Hon. Anthony Morton Henley (1873–1925), a younger son of the 3rd Baron Henley, and the Hon. Sylvia Laura Stanley, daughter of the 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley, by whom he had a third son:
* (George) Anthony (b. 1932); who married in 1964 Valerie Scott, who was
Lord Lieutenant of Dorset
The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriff of Dorset and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569, there was provision for the appointment o ...
between 2006 and 2014.
After the Second World War, Pitt-Rivers met Stella Lonsdale, who had herself been incarcerated in Paris by the Germans, suspected of being a British spy; when she eventually managed to make her way to England, she was imprisoned under suspicion of being a German spy. She became the mistress of Pitt-Rivers and took his name, although they were not married.
Stella inherited substantial property from Pitt-Rivers when he died in 1966. In his will, he left her instructions that any properties to be sold must be offered individually, rather than as an estate, in order that tenants might buy the properties they leased from the Pitt-Rivers Estate. Much of the village of
Okeford Fitzpaine
Okeford Fitzpaine is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated in the Blackmore Vale south of the town of Sturminster Newton. It is sited on a thin strip of greensand under the escarpment ...
was thus sold to former tenants. Stella also sold a large proportion of the artefacts held in the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Farnham, Dorset, which she had also inherited from Pitt-Rivers. The
Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed t ...
in Oxford has been trying ever since to recover those items, which were uncatalogued.
Churchill Archives Centre
The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...