As a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago in 1938, Gabriel Almond did not appear to be on his way to becoming a giant in the social sciences. His adviser, annoyed by Almond’s impudent jabs at New York City’s elite—including U. of Chicago benefactor John D. Rockefeller—refused to recommend Almond’s dissertation,“Wealth and Plutocracy in New York City,” for publication. It might have derailed some scholars’ careers, but not Almond’s.“Wealth and Plutocracy” became an underground classic, influencing two generations of students who managed to squirrel away bootleg copies. When his thesis was finally published, six decades later, Almond was pleased but somewhat contrite about his zealous attack on the “idle rich,” and even suggested his adviser may have been right. But by then it didn’t matter—his other ideas about political dynamics had changed the way scholars thought.
Gabriel Abraham Almond, professor emeritus of political science and a pioneer in comparative politics, died December 25 in Pacific Grove, Calif. He was 91.
The son and grandson of rabbis, Almond was born in 1911 in Rock Island, Ill. He earned his degrees from the University of Chicago and, while conducting his dissertation research, met a Columbia Teacher’s College student named Dorothea Kaufmann. They were married in 1937. Dorothea later became a leading force behind Stanford’s network of child-care centers, established in 1969. She died in 2000.
During World War II, Almond worked for the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, studying the effects of Allied bombing on the German war effort. He later held faculty appointments at Brooklyn College, Yale and Princeton, and came to Stanford in 1963 as head of the political science department. He remained at Stanford until his formal retirement in 1976, though “he never really stopped,” says his son, Peter O. Almond.
His research is documented in 19 books and numerous articles. The Civic Culture (co-authored by Sidney Verba, MA ’67, a Stanford graduate student at the time), often considered the most influential of his works, was published in 1963. It sampled citizens from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Mexico to determine which kind of culture was most conducive to prolonged democracy. Almond’s findings emphasized the importance of balancing popular participation with trust in the abilities of government officials. Other works included The Politics of the Developing Areas and eight editions of his textbook Comparative Politics Today. “When [Almond] started, we looked mainly at Western [countries],” says professor emeritus David Abernethy, a comparative politics scholar who specializes in Africa. “He made students of non-Western societies welcome at the comparativists’ table.”
Almond was visiting professor at a number of universities overseas and was former president of the American Political Science Association. Among his awards and fellowships was the James Madison Award in 1981, bestowed on “the greatest political scientist alive.” Upon Almond’s retirement, the American Political Science Association established the Gabriel A. Almond Prize for the best PhD dissertation in his area of political science. It was an ironic tribute to the man whose own dissertation was snubbed.
He was known among friends for his charm, steadfastness (he held the same Stanford Stadium seats for 25 years) and love of music. Whether at an office party or a family gathering, or in the midst of a long car ride, he would pull out his harmonica and play jazz and blues tunes, often singing his favorite, “Miss Otis Regrets.” Peter Almond called his father “a world-class scholar and a world-class gentleman.”
In addition to Peter, Almond is survived by his son Richard J. and his daughter, Susyn; five grandchildren, including David Almond, ’87; two great-grandchildren; and his sister.
