Sir Charles Waldstein (March 30, 1856 – March 21, 1927), known as Sir Charles Walston from 1918 to 1927, was an

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. He also competed at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

in Athens.

Life

Waldstein was born into a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States, on March 30, 1856, third son of Henry Waldstein, a merchant, and Sophie, daughter of L. Srisheim, of New York. He was of Austrian descent. Waldstein was educated at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(AM, 1873), and also studied at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

(PhD, 1875). In 1880, he became university

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

on classical archaeology at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and in 1883 university reader. From 1883 to 1889, he was director of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

. In 1889, he was called to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

as director of the

American School of Classical Studies The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA; ) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. It is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federati ...

, which office he held until 1893, when he became

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the same institution. In 1894, he was made a fellow of King's College. In 1895, he returned to England as

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

at Cambridge; and he held this chair until 1901. During his stay in Athens, he directed the

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 ...

of the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

at the site of ancient

Plataea Plataea (; , ''Plátaia'') was an ancient Greek city-state situated in Boeotia near the frontier with Attica at the foot of Mt. Cithaeron, between the mountain and the river Asopus, which divided its territory from that of Thebes. Its inhab ...

Eretria Eretria (; , , , , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers ...

, where he claimed to have unearthed the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, the Heraeum of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

, among other discoveries. Later he formed an international committee to promote the excavation of

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1912, appointed as Knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, and appointed Commander of the

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Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

. He married Florence, daughter of D. L. Einstein and widow of Theodore Seligman, in 1909. They had one son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, and a daughter, Evelyn Sophie Alexandra, who married the judge Sir Patrick Browne. He changed his surname to Walston in 1918 and died in 1927, while on a Mediterranean cruise.

Publications

Besides writing the following books, Waldstein also published in journals numerous reports on his excavations. He wrote three short stories under the pseudonym 'Gordon Seymour' which were later released under his own name as ''The Surface of Things'' (1899). *''Balance of Emotion and Intellect'' (1878) *''Essays on the Art of

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; , ''Pheidias''; ) was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of ...

'' (1885) *''The

Jewish Question The Jewish question was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century Europe that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national questions", dealt with the civil, legal, national, ...

and the Mission of the Jews'' (1889, anon.; 2nd ed. 1900)
''The Work of John Ruskin''
(1893) (See

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

.)
''The Study of Art in Universities''
(lecture, 10 June 1895) *''The Expansion of Western Ideals and the World's Peace'' (1899) *''The

Argive Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...

Heraeum'' (1902)
''Art in the Nineteenth Century''
(1903) *''Aristodemocracy'': ''From the Great War back to Moses, Christ and Plato'' (1916) *''Harmonism and Conscious Evolution'' (1922)

Olympic Games

Waldstein competed at the

in the military rifle event. His final score and place in the competition are unknown, but his first two strings of 10 shots apiece resulted in scores of 354 and 154. This put him at 508 points halfway through the competition, but the rest of the results have been lost.

References

External links

* *
Catalogued papers of Sir Charles Walston, King's College, Cambridge
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldstein, Charles 1856 births 1927 deaths American Ashkenazi Jews American people of English-Jewish descent American archaeologists English archaeologists Classical archaeologists Columbia College (New York) alumni Heidelberg University alumni Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Directors of the Fitzwilliam Museum American classical scholars Olympic shooters for the United States Shooters at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century English people American male sport shooters ISSF rifle shooters American expatriates in the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge 19th-century American sportsmen

Life

Publications

Olympic Games

Further reading

References

External links