P. Herring, 100; Harvard Professor, Political Scientist

Pendleton Herring, 100, a pioneering political scientist whose scholarship broke ground by relying on field research and interviews for the study of American politics, died Aug. 17 at his home in Princeton, N.J.

Herring published six books. His “Group Representation Before Congress” is believed to be the first scholarly study of American interest groups. His most influential book was “The Politics of Democracy,” in which he argued that the pragmatic, decentralized political parties in the United States were a better fit for the American political context. Born in Baltimore, Herring earned his bachelor’s degree and doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. He joined the faculty at Harvard University, where he developed the teaching program for its Graduate School in Public Administration and became the school’s first secretary.

He worked in Washington during and after World War II, serving as an advisor to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Herring was president of the Social Science Research Council from 1948 to 1968.