John Henry Hutton

John Henry Hutton CIE FRAI (27 June 1885 – 23 May 1968) was an English-born anthropologist and an administrator in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) during the period of the British Raj.

His research work was recognised subsequently with his appointment to the chair of William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and with various honours.

He held positions as a Political Officer and as a Deputy Commissioner, for which his duties included undertaking lengthy tours within the Assam region to inspect facilities and infrastructure as well as to settle legal disputes.

[1][2] Later, during official discussions about the formulation of the Government of India Act 1935, Hutton worked with some success to protect the interests of tribal minorities despite opposition from Indian nationalists who suspected that it was a scheme intended to divide the country.

[1] A fellow anthropologist of India, Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf, said in an obituary that the death of Hutton "...ended a chapter in the history of British anthropology.

He was the last of the distinguished class of civil servants who in their time contributed so greatly to the knowledge of the indigenous peoples of Britain's far-flung empire and in a later phase of their career achieved positions of eminence in academic life.