Professor Asher Tropp PhD
- Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Surrey

Asher Tropp was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, youngest child and only son of Sam and Esta. His father was a woollen merchant and his mother had been a suffragette before and in the early days of her marriage. In South Africa she was homesick and soon after Asher’s birth, the family, including his two older sisters Netta and Lilian, returned to England.

Asher attended Hackney Downs School (formerly the Grocers' Company's School) and then the University of Reading where he obtained his BSc and met Lyn (Eluned) Morgan who became his wife. He then attended the London School of Economics, where he obtained his PhD. During his time at LSE he won a Fulbright scholarship to Princeton University where he studied for a year.

He returned to lecture in Sociology at LSE, then on to Battersea College of Advanced Technology which later became the University of Surrey, where he established the Department of Sociology. His main interest was education, especially in the developing world. He lectured at a number of universities including UCLA, Texas and the West Indies. He also took a keen interest in the education of his nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, advising and informing us, and he took particular pleasure in our academic achievements.

In order to obtain a passport he had to establish that his father, born in Eastern Europe, had obtained British nationality. This research led to a lifetime’s fascination with the family history and wherever he travelled he would look up “Tropp” in the local phonebook and call to ask if they might be related.

He discovered Tropps in many parts of the world, including the UK, and discovered many fascinating facts about the family. He also enjoyed studying Jewish texts and after his retirement from Surrey he attended the University of London where he obtained his MA.

He was the author of several books and papers including
   - “Schoolteachers: The Growth of the Teaching Profession in England and Wales from 1800 to the Present Day”
   - “Jews in the professions in Great Britain 1881 – 1981”
   - “Russian Jews in Britain during the First World War" (unpublished MA dissertation, University of London).

Having attained the age of 88, his ambition was to live to 90, and he achieved this milestone in January this year. He is survived by his son, Sam, nephews and nieces.