Benedict Anderson Biography

Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was a political scientist and historian, best known for his 1983 book Imagined Communities, which explored the origins of nationalism. Anderson was the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government & Asian Studies at Cornell University. A polyglot with an interest in Southeast Asia, his work on the Cornell Paper that debunked the official story of Indonesia's 30 September Movement and the subsequent anti-Communist purges of 1965–66 led to his expulsion from that country. He was the brother of historian Perry Anderson (b. 1938).