David Bryn Whitehouse,
FSA,
FRGS
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scie ...
(15 October 194117 February 2013) was a British
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
and senior scholar of the
Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass obj ...
. He was director of the
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture.
History
The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...
between 1974 and 1984.
Early life
Whitehouse was born 15 October 1941, the son of Brindley Charles Whitehouse and his wife Alice Margaret Whitehouse.
He grew up in the village of Wildmoor near
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in th ...
, Worcestershire.
He was educated at
Catshill First School
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system.
Terminology
In a three-tier local educa ...
and at
King Edward's School an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
located in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. He read for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), later promoted to
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
(MA), at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
. He held a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) in
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
, also from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Academic career
Whitehouse was a scholar at the
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture.
History
The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...
from 1963 to 1965. He became Wainwright Fellow in
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
ern Archaeology at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
from 1966 to 1973.
During that tenure, he was director of
excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
at
Siraf
Bandar Siraf ( fa, بندر سیراف), also Romanized as Bandar-e Sīraf; also known as Sīraf, Ṭāherī, and Tāhiri; as well as Bandar-e Ṭāherī and Bandar-i Ṭāhirī ( fa, بندر طاهری, Bandar-e Ṭāherī), is a city in the C ...
in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...
. Many of the finds he excavated at Siraf are now in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docu ...
.
He was director of the British Institute of Afghan Studies between 1973 and 1974, and director of the
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture.
History
The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...
for ten years, from 1974 to 1984.
In 1984, he joined the
Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass obj ...
as
chief curator. He became deputy director of collections three years later, and in 1988 he was appointed deputy director of the museum. He became director in 1992 and executive director in 1999. He stood down from the post in 2011, becoming the museum's senior scholar.
Later life
Having battled for a short time with cancer, Whitehouse died on 17 February 2013.
Personal life
Whitehouse married Ruth Delamain Ainger in 1963.
Together they had one son and two daughters: Peter, Sarah, and Susan.
In October 1975, he married Elizabeth-Anne Ollemans in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to De ...
, South Africa.
They also had one son and two daughters:
Simon, Julia, and Nicci.
Honours
Whitehouse was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
(FSA) on 11 January 1973.
He was also a
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS).
Selected works
Whitehouse wrote or edited more than 500 scholarly papers, reviews, monographs, and books.
The following are a selection of those.
*
* Whitehouse, D. and Whitehouse, R. 1975. ''Archaeological atlas of the world''. San Francisco:
W. H. Freeman.
* Whitehouse, D. 1988. ''Glass of the Roman Empire''. Corning, N.Y. : Corning Museum of Glass.
* Whitehouse, D. 2000. ''The Corning Museum of Glass: a decade of glass collecting, 1990–1999''. Corning, N.Y.: The Museum: New York.
*
* Whitehouse, D. 2012. ''Glass: A Short History''. London:
British Museum Press.
References
External links
Obituary - The Telegraph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehouse, David
1941 births
2013 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
English archaeologists
English curators
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
People from Worcestershire (before 1974)
People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham
People associated with the Corning Museum of Glass