Lord Pentland

Lord Pentland, (died in 1984) "a British businessman who served as president of the Gurdjieff Foundation in New York for 31 years, died Tuesday in New York Hospital. Lord Pentland lived in Manhattan and was 76 years old.

"A tall, slender man with distinctive bushy eyebrows, Lord Pentland became a disciple of G. I. Gurdjieff, the Greek-Armenian philosopher and spiritual teacher, in Paris after World War II.

"After Mr. Gurdjieff's death in 1949, Lord Pentland helped establish the Gurdjieff Foundation in New York to propagate the beliefs of Mr. Gurdjieff, who combined Eastern philosophy and practices with Western ways. Lord Pentland was president of the foundation until his death.

"Under Lord Pentland's direction, three of Mr. Gurdjieff's books were translated into English and published here. One of them, Meetings with Remarkable Men, was made into a film directed by Peter Brook. Founded Electric Corporation

"Lord Pentland founded the American British Electric Corporation in 1954 and served as president until five years ago, when he retired. The company specialized in marketing British engineering services to American clients. He was born Henry John Sinclair in London, and was knighted in December 1924 on the death of his father, who had served as Governor General of the Indian state of Madras. Lord Pentland graduated from Cambridge University in 1929 and also studied at the University of Heidelberg. Continue reading the main story

"In the 1930's Lord Pentland served as director of several British companies. He came to the United States in 1944 to serve on the Combined Production and Resources Board, a cooperative effort of the United States, France and England. He became a permanent resident of the United States in the early 1950's.

"Lord Pentland is survived by his wife, the former Lucy Babington Smith; a daughter, Mary Rothenberg of New York, and one grandchild." [1]