George Pitt-Rivers facts for kids

George Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers (born May 22, 1890 – died June 17, 1966) was a wealthy British man who studied human societies and cultures. He also held strong, controversial political views. Because of these views, he was held by the British government for two years during World War II.

Early Life and Family

George Pitt-Rivers was born in London. His father, Alexander Edward Lane Fox-Pitt-Rivers, was the oldest son of Augustus Pitt Rivers, a famous expert on human cultures who started the Pitt Rivers Museum. When Augustus died in 1900, Alexander inherited a very large estate (a lot of land and property).

In 1927, George inherited this huge estate from his father. It was so big that people joked he could ride a horse from one coast of England to the other without leaving his own land!

Military Service and Studies

George Pitt-Rivers was a Captain in the 5th Dragoon Guards, a type of cavalry (soldiers on horseback). He fought in World War I. He was hurt during a big battle called the First Battle of Ypres and had to return to England for treatment.

After the war, he wrote a book called The World Significance of the Russian Revolution. This book showed his strong, unpopular political ideas. From 1922 to 1925, he worked as a personal assistant to his father-in-law, Lord Forster, who was the Governor-General of Australia.

While in Australia, George became very interested in studying human societies and cultures, especially after meeting the Māori people (the native people of New Zealand). He later studied this subject at Oxford University with a famous professor named Bronisław Malinowski.

Political Views and Internment

George Pitt-Rivers attended meetings about human populations and joined groups that studied human societies. He also became very involved in politics. He praised the ideas of leaders like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, whose views were very extreme and harmful.

Because he supported a political leader named Oswald Mosley and had views similar to the Nazi party, George Pitt-Rivers was held in prison during World War II. He was held in Brixton Prison and an internment center from 1940 to 1942.

George Pitt-Rivers passed away in 1966.

Personal Life

George Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers was married two times. His first marriage was to Rachel Forster in 1915, but they divorced in 1930. They had two sons:

• Julian Pitt-Rivers (1919–2001), who also became an expert in human societies and cultures.

His second marriage was to Rosalind Venetia Henley in 1931. She was a biochemist, a scientist who studies the chemistry of living things. This marriage ended in 1937. They had one child together:

• (George) Anthony (born 1932).

After World War II, George Pitt-Rivers met Stella Lonsdale. She became his partner, and she took his last name, even though they never married.

When George Pitt-Rivers died in 1966, Stella inherited a lot of his property. In his will, he wanted his properties to be sold individually, so that people who were renting land from him could buy their homes. This is how many people in the village of Okeford Fitzpaine were able to buy their houses. Stella also sold many old items from the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Farnham, Dorset, which she had also inherited. The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford has been trying to get these items back ever since.