Roger Pearson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Roger Pearson
Pearson in 1946
Born	21 August 1927 London, United Kingdom
Died	4 January, 2023
Occupation	Anthropologist

Roger Pearson (born 1927, died 2023) was a British anthropologist, writer, and political organizer. He held beliefs that white people were superior to other races and supported ideas about improving humanity through controlled reproduction, known as eugenics.

Pearson taught at several universities, including Queens University of Charlotte, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Montana Tech. He was known for balancing his academic work with his political activities, which were often linked to extreme right-wing views.

After World War II, Pearson served in the British Army. He also worked as a businessman in South Asia. In the late 1950s, he started an organization called the Northern League. Later, in the 1960s, he moved to the United States. There, he worked with Willis Carto to publish books and articles that promoted white supremacist and anti-Jewish ideas. He also wrote regularly for publications from The Heritage Foundation.

Pearson's studies in anthropology were based on his belief that certain human traits were "good" and others were "bad." He thought that people with "good" traits should be encouraged to have children, while those with "bad" traits should not. He also believed that human races were biologically different and could be ranked from best to worst. Pearson argued that the future of humanity depended on replacing groups of people he considered "inferior" with those he considered "superior."

He wrote two popular anthropology textbooks. However, his ideas about race are widely rejected by modern anthropologists. In 1976, he started the Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies. This journal, along with Mankind Quarterly, often published articles trying to support the idea that white people are naturally better or smarter than others. In 1978, he became the editor of Mankind Quarterly, which is seen as a journal that promotes scientific racism. Pearson managed most of his publishing through the Institute for the Study of Man and received a lot of money from the Pioneer Fund.

Pearson was against ideas like egalitarianism (the belief that all people are equal), Marxism, and socialism. In the 1980s, he organized political groups for the American far-right. He founded the Council for American Affairs in the 1970s. He also represented the United States in the World League for Freedom and Democracy (WACL) in the late 1970s. As the world chairman of WACL, he worked with the U.S. government during the Cold War. He also cooperated with many anti-communist groups, including the Unification Church and some former German Nazis.

Early Life and Military Service

Roger Pearson was born in London, England, on August 21, 1927. He lost his only sibling and four cousins in World War II. Pearson later called World War II a "brother-killing war." He believed it harmed "Germanic" peoples and led to the decline of the "Nordic race."

In April 1945, Pearson joined the British Army in England. In 1946, he became an officer in the British Indian Army. He served in Meerut before India was divided into separate countries. He also served with the British Indian Division in the Occupation of Japan and with the British Army in Singapore in 1948. After this, he went back to university in England. Later, Pearson managed several British companies in what was then East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh.

Political Activities

In 1958, Pearson started the Northern League for North European Friendship. This group promoted ideas about a unified German people, anti-Jewish views, and Neo-Nazi racial beliefs. The League published journals like "The Northlander" and "Northern World." These journals aimed to make white people aware of their "racial heritage" and to fight against what they called "lies" about their origins and achievements.

In 1959, Pearson wrote in "The Northlander" that the group's goal was to prevent the "annihilation of our kind." He wanted to lead "Nordics" in Europe and the Americas in a "fight for survival" against groups he believed would mix their race and civilization. He also wrote about the need for a strong government to make big changes to the genes of its people. He believed this would help a nation become more powerful than others. Pearson also wrote about important racial thinkers under the pen name Edward Langford.

Pearson also communicated with segregationist Earnest Sevier Cox from America. Cox wanted federal money to send African-Americans back to Africa. Pearson told him he fully supported his efforts.

The Northern League faced criticism from the start. People disliked its focus on the idea that wars between European groups were harmful to their race. The League also attracted well-known former Nazis, such as scholar Hans F. K. Günther and Heinrich Himmler's former assistant Franz Altheim. Other members included British Neo-Nazis Colin Jordan and John Tyndall. Pearson left the League in 1961, and it became even more political after he left.

In 1959, the first meeting of the League was held in Detmold, West Germany. This location was chosen because it was believed to be near where Germanic tribes defeated the Romans long ago. Cox and Hans F. K. Günther were main speakers, though Günther's involvement was kept quiet because he was a famous former Nazi. Local people described the event as similar to a Nazi revival.

Academic Career and Views

In 1967, Pearson began teaching anthropology at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). In 1969, he earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of London. By 1971, USM made Pearson a full professor and head of the anthropology and sociology department. Three years later, Pearson left USM and taught at the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology for one year. After leaving that school, Pearson founded the Institute for the Study of Man.

Pearson's anthropological ideas were based on the theories of British anthropologist Arthur Keith. Keith believed that human races were separate groups that evolved to compete with each other. Pearson's early writings directly mentioned Keith as a major influence. He even admitted that many people might see Keith's ideas as supporting Hitler's philosophy.

In his work, Pearson described racial types as "subspecies." He defined a subspecies as a group of individuals that are becoming separate species but can still reproduce with each other. He argued that mixing between subspecies was harmful. He believed one subspecies would always be better suited for life than the other, and therefore should avoid mixing.

In 1995 and 1996, Pearson wrote a series of articles in Mankind Quarterly. These articles defended the idea that traits are passed down through genes and criticized the idea that all people are equal. Pearson repeated his belief that racial groups were subspecies. He also continued to support eugenic ideas, suggesting that people should voluntarily choose not to have children if they believed it would benefit their species. He repeated these views in his 1996 book, Heredity and Humanity: Race, Eugenics and Modern Science.

Business in South Asia

In 1963, Pearson was the president of the Pakistan Tea Association in Chittagong. He also served on the managing committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Pearson sold his businesses in East Pakistan in 1965 and moved to the United States. It was during his time in South Asia that he became interested in the idea of the Aryan people. He studied the connections between Northern Europe and the Indo-Aryan populations of the Subcontinent, looking at language, culture, and genetics.

Academic Career in the U.S.

When Pearson first arrived in the United States, he wrote for publications by Willis Carto, who was known for his anti-Jewish views. From 1966 to 1967, using the name "Stephan Langton," Pearson published The New Patriot. This magazine focused on "the Jewish Question." As Lanton, he wrote articles with titles like "Zionists and the Plot Against South Africa" and "Swindlers of the Crematoria." His books from this time, such as Eugenics and Race and Early Civilizations of the Nordic Peoples, were later shared in the U.S. by a group linked to the National States' Rights Party. Pearson's co-founder of The New Patriot was Senator Jack Tenney. Pearson joined the Eugenics Society in 1963 and became a fellow in 1977.

In 1973, Pearson founded the Journal of Indo-European Studies. In 1976, he founded the Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. In 1978, he became the editor of Mankind Quarterly. This journal was originally started in 1960 by several scholars, including Robert Gayre and Henry Garrett.

In 1971, Pearson became the head of the Anthropology Comparative Religious Studies department at USM. He fired most of the teachers who did not have permanent jobs and hired scholars who shared his political views. The dean at USM later said that Pearson had used his position to bring in "fanatics" who thought like him.

In 1974, Pearson became a Professor and Dean of Academic Affairs at Montana Tech. During his time there, the school received money from the Pioneer Fund to support Pearson's research and publishing. When a journalist asked about Pearson, officials at Montana Tech said they did not know he had edited Western Destiny, a magazine with many articles supporting South Africa's apartheid, opposing communism, and opposing racial mixing. They also did not know he had written articles and pamphlets for Willis Carto's group, including titles like "Eugenics and Race."

President Ronald Reagan praised Pearson's work in publishing the work of "scholars who support a free economy and a strong foreign policy." Reagan said Pearson made a "substantial contribution" to promoting important ideals.

World Anti-Communist League

In 1975, Pearson left teaching and moved to Washington, D.C.. He became president of the Council on American Affairs and the American chapter of the World Anti-Communist League. He also edited the Journal on American Affairs, which was later renamed The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. Eventually, he became president of University Professors for Academic Order (UPAO). This group supported academic honesty and social order, believing universities should not be used for social change. He was also a trustee of the Benjamin Franklin University.

Pearson also served on the editorial boards of several organizations, including The Heritage Foundation and the American Security Council. Many conservative politicians wrote articles for Pearson's Journal on American Affairs, including Senators Jake Garn, Carl T. Curtis, and Jesse Helms, and Representatives Jack Kemp and Philip Crane.

In 1978, Pearson was elected world chairman of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL). According to William H. Tucker, Pearson "used this opportunity to fill the WACL with European Nazis." These included former officials from Nazi Germany and people who helped the Nazis during the war, as well as new supporters. One journalist called it "one of the greatest fascist blocs in postwar Europe."

Pearson led the League's 11th Annual Conference in Washington that year. Two U.S. Senators spoke at the first session, which was attended by hundreds of members from around the world. After a Russian newspaper criticized the meeting, The Washington Post published an even stronger attack on WACL and Pearson's extreme right-wing politics.

Pearson resigned from WACL after being accused of "encouraging the membership of European and Latin American groups with Nazi or neo-Nazi ties." In a Wall Street Journal article, the next chairman, John Singlaub, called Pearson an "embarrassment." The article also claimed that Pearson's praise from President Reagan was only possible because of a friend who worked in the Defense Department. The White House did not take back the letter, but they publicly stated that the President rejected any kind of racial discrimination. Pearson was asked to stop using Reagan's letter to promote his activities. One WACL member described the organization under Pearson as "largely a collection of Nazis, Fascists, anti-Semites, sellers of forgeries, vicious racialists, and corrupt self-seekers."

After The Washington Post article, Pearson was asked to resign from the editorial board of Policy Review, a journal he helped found. However, he continued his connections with other organizations. In 1986, a magazine called CovertAction Quarterly revealed his links to James Jesus Angleton (former chief of CIA Counter-Intelligence), General Daniel O. Graham, General Robert C. Richardson, and other members of the American Security Council.

Association with the Pioneer Fund

In 1981, Pearson received a collection of books from Donald A. Swan through money from the Pioneer Fund. Between 1973 and 1999, the Fund spent $1.2 million on Pearson's activities. Most of this money went to the Institute for the Study of Man, which Pearson led. This Institute bought the journal Mankind Quarterly in 1979. Pearson became the publisher and had influence over the content, even though his name never appeared on the masthead. Pearson used different fake names, like "J. W. Jamieson" and "Alan McGregor," to write for the journal. Sometimes he even used one fake name to review and praise the work of another. This publication was later taken over by The Council for Social and Economic Studies.

Pearson was also the director of the Council for Social and Economics Studies. This group owns Scott-Townsend Publishers, which published most of his later books. He was also the General Editor of the Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies.

Death

Roger Pearson passed away on January 4, 2023, at the age of 95.

Publications

• Eastern Interlude. Thacker Spink, Calcutta; Luzac and Co., London (1953)
• This is a Republic, Not a Democracy! Let's Keep It That Way. Los Angeles: Noontide Press (1965)

Published under the pseudonym "Edward Langford."

• Eugenics and Race. London: Clair Press; Los Angeles: Noontide Press (1958) .
• Blood Groups and Race. 2nd ed. London: Clair Press; Los Angeles: Noontide Press (1966) .
• Race & Civilisation. 2nd Ed. London: Clair Press; Los Angeles: Noontide Press (1966) .
• Early Civilizations of the Nordic Peoples. London: Northern World (1958); Los Angeles: Noontide Press (1965) .
• Introduction to Anthropology: An Ecological/Evolutionary Approach. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston (1974)
• Sino-Soviet Intervention in Africa. Council on American Affairs (1977)
• Korea in the World Today. Washington, D.C.: Council on American Affairs (1978)
• Ecology and Evolution. Washington, D.C.: Mankind Quarterly Monograph (1981)
• Essays in Medical Anthropology. Washington, D.C.: Scott-Townsend Publishers (1981)
• Anthropological Glossary. Marla at, FL: Krieger Publishing (1985)
• Evolution, Creative Intelligence, and Intergroup Competition. Cliveden Press (1986)
• William Shockley: Shockley on Eugenics and Race: The Application of Science to the Solution of Human Problems. Preface by Arthur Jensen. Washington, D.C.: Scott-Townsend Publishers (1992) .
• Race, Intelligence and Bias in Academe. Introduction by Hans Eysenck. Scott-Townsend Publishers, Washington, D.C., 1991 (2nd. Ed. 1994).
• Heredity and Humanity: Race, Eugenics and Modern Science. Washington, D.C.: Scott-Townsend Publishers (1991) [2nd ed. 1998].