Benedict Anderson
Irish-American political scientist (1936–2015)
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Key Takeaways
- Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States.
- A polyglot with an interest in Southeast Asia, he was the Aaron L.
- His work on the "Cornell Paper" disputed the official story of Indonesia's 30 September Movement and the subsequent anti-Communist purges of 1965–1966 which led to his expulsion from that country.
- Biography Background Anderson was born on August 26, 1936, in Kunming, China, to an Irish and Anglo-Irish father and English mother.
- The family are descendants of the Anderson family of Ardbrake, Bothriphnie, Scotland, who settled in Ireland in the early 1700s.
Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book Imagined Communities, which explored the origins of nationalism. A polyglot with an interest in Southeast Asia, he was the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor of International Studies, Government & Asian Studies at Cornell University. His work on the "Cornell Paper" disputed the official story of Indonesia's 30 September Movement and the subsequent anti-Communist purges of 1965–1966 which led to his expulsion from that country. He was the elder brother of historian Perry Anderson.
Biography
Background
Anderson was born on August 26, 1936, in Kunming, China, to an Irish and Anglo-Irish father and English mother. His father, James Carew O'Gorman Anderson, was an official with Chinese Maritime Customs. The family are descendants of the Anderson family of Ardbrake, Bothriphnie, Scotland, who settled in Ireland in the early 1700s. His mother's family originated in Lancaster.
Anderson's maternal grandfather Trevor Bigham was the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1914 to 1931. One of Anderson's grandmothers, Lady Frances O'Gorman, belonged to the Gaelic Mac Gormáin clan of County Clare and was the daughter of the Irish Home Rule MP Major Purcell O'Gorman. Major O'Gorman was the son of Nicholas Purcell O'Gorman who had been involved with the Republican Society of United Irishmen during the 1798 Rising, later becoming Secretary of the Catholic Association in the 1820s. Anderson also had roots in County Waterford through his O'Gorman side. Benedict Anderson took his middle names from the cousin of Major Purcell O'Gorman, Richard O'Gorman, who was one of the leaders of the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848.
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