My uncle Asher Tropp, who has died aged 90, was emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Surrey, where he had founded the sociology department after lecturing at a number of other universities, including LSE, UCLA, Texas and the West Indies. He always took a keen interest in education, especially in the developing world.
He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the youngest child of Sam and Esta, who were both from Britain. His father was a wool merchant and his mother had been a suffragette. Soon after Asher’s birth the family, including his two older sisters, Netta and Lilian, came to England. He attended Hackney Downs school in London, and Reading University, where he obtained his BSc and met Lyn (Eluned) Morgan, who became his wife. After national service in the Royal Navy he attended the London School of Economics, where he obtained his PhD and also won a Fulbright scholarship to Princeton University, where he studied for a year.
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