Victor Witter Turner 28 May 1920 – 18 December 1983 was the British cultural anthropologist best asked for his take on symbols, rituals, together with rites of passage. His work, along with that of Clifford Geertz together with others, is often forwarded to as symbolic and interpretive anthropology.
Victor Turner was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son to Norman and Violet Turner. His father was an electrical engineer and his mother the repertory actress, who founded the Scottish National Players. Turner initially studied poetry and classics at University College London.
In 1941, Turner was drafted into World War II, and served as a noncombatant until 1944. During his three years of return he met and married Edith Brocklesby Davis, who was serving during the war as a "land girl". Their five children include scientist Robert Turner, poet Frederick Turner, and Rory Turner, an anthropology professor at Goucher College.
Turner allocated to University College in 1946 with a new focus on anthropology. He later pursued graduate studies in anthropology at Manchester University.