George K. Tanham ’44

George Tanham died in Washington, DC, Mar. 29, 2003.

He prepped at Tenafly [N.J.] HS. At Princeton he majored in history, was active with the Westminster Society, and was president of Key and Seal Club. He roomed with Bob Van Wagoner and Ward Sangren. In 1943 he entered the Army, being separated as captain after earning the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and Croix de Guerre.

He earned a PhD from Stanford and was a Ford Fellow at Oxford. He worked in classified projects for the Dept. of Defense and held a professorship at the California Institute of Technology before joining Rand Corp. in 1955, where he worked until retirement.

George published three books including Communist Revolutionary Warfare; he contributed to Foreign Affairs, The Historian, and Military Affairs; and he was editor of the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; three children from his first marriage, George Jr., Geoff, and Alexis; four children from his second marriage, Barbara, Maedi, Ruth, and P. Ramsay; and 14 grandchildren; to all of whom his classmates tender their sincere regrets.

The Class of 1944