Tom Harrisson

Major Tom Harnett Harrisson, DSO, OBE (26 September 1911 – 16 January 1976) was an Argentine-born British polymath. In the course of his life he was an ornithologist, explorer, journalist, broadcaster, soldier, guerrilla, ethnologist, museum curator, archaeologist, documentarian, film-maker, conservationist and writer. He was often described as an anthropologist, and sometimes referred to as the "Barefoot Anthropologist". Educated at Harrow School and dropping out of a natural science degree at University of Cambridge, Harrison later moved to Oxford and became involved in anthropological research through the Oxford University Exploration Club. During this time he was involved in ornithological and anthropological research in Sarawak (1932) and the New Hebrides (1933–35). He was a founder of the social observation organisation Mass-Observation. During World War II, he served in the Borneo campaign. After the war, he remained in Sarawak and was a curator of the Sarawak Museum and was involved in research around the island with his wife Barbara Harrisson, including a notable excavation in Great Niah Cave. Harisson also played a role in suppressing the 1962 Brunei revolt. Harrisson authored several books and presented television documentaries on anthropology, his travels and research. He left Sarawak in 1967, taking positions at Cornell University and University of Sussex. He died in a road accident in Thailand.

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