Peter Maurice Worsley is a noted sociologist and social anthropologist from Birkenhead, UK. He is a major figure in both anthropology and sociology, and is noted for introducing the term "Third World" into English. He not only made theoretical and ethnographic contributions, but also was regarded as a key founding member of the New Left.
Worsley started reading English at Cambridge but his studies were interrupted by World War II. He served in the British Army as an officer in Africa and India. During this time he developed his interest in anthropology. After the war he worked on mass education in Tanganyika and then went to study under Max Gluckman at the University of Manchester.
He lectured in sociology at the University of Hull and then went on c.1963 to become the first Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester.