Obituary

Ernest Gellner died suddenly on 5 Nov 1995 on a visit to Prague, Czechoslovakia; his Czech Jewish parents had taken refuge in GB during WWII, where Gellner was educated & later taught at the London School of Economics (1962-1984). Despite his teaching load in sociology & philosophy, Gellner thought of himself as an anthropologist, & was President of the Royal Anthropology Instit, 1991-1994. His many books were deeply influential in anthropology, especially Saints of the Atlas (1969) on the Berbers of Morocco, & Nations and Nationalism (1983), reflecting on the inevitability of nationalism in the wake of industrialization. Gellner is also noted for his good works with Jewish dissidents in Russia & with others. 1 Photograph. M. Pflum