Sir Bernard Rowland Crick (Dec. 16, 1929, London – Dec. 19, 2008, Edinburgh), British political theorist who was the author of numerous leftist scholarly studies, notably The American Science of Politics (1958), In Defence of Politics (1962), The Reform of Parliament (1964), and the authorized biography George Orwell: A Life (1980). Crick studied at University College, London; the London School of Economics (LSE; 1950–52); and Harvard University (Ph.D., 1957). His academic career included stints on the faculty of the LSE (1957–65), the University of Sheffield (1965–71), and Birbeck College, London (1971–84). He also was on the editorial staff (1966–2000) of the periodical Political Quarterly, served as a political adviser to Labour Party leaders, and established (1993) the Orwell Prizes for political writing.