Claude Hermann Walter Johns (20 February 1857 – 20 August 1920) was an

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...

and Church of England clergyman.

Biography

He was born at

Banwell Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 3,251 according to the 2021 census. Toponymy Banwell's name is first securely attested around the year 900 i ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

(B.A., 1880), and was second master successively at Horton College, Tasmania, in 1880–84 and Paston Grammar School, in 1884–86. Johns was ordered deacon in 1887 and ordained priest in the following year, and from 1887 until 1892 was tutor in St Peter's Training College for Schoolmasters, Peterborough, as well as curate of St Botolph's, Helpston (1887–88), and of St John's, Peterborough (1888–91). In 1892 Johns became rector of St Botolph's Church, Cambridge. He was also chaplain of Queens' College from 1893 to 1901. He had taken up the study of

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

, encouraged by Sandford Arthur Strong, and from 1897 was lecturer in Assyriology at Cambridge University, as well as in Assyrian at King's College, London, from 1904. He was Edwards Fellow in Cambridge University from 1900, honorary secretary of the Cambridge Pupil Teachers' Centre from 1894 to 1900, and Master of

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

from 1909 to 1920 (also bursar, for some of this time).

Personal life

Claude Johns married Agnes Sophia, daughter of the Reverend John Griffith, in 1910. He died at his home, Rathmines, Barnes Close, Winchester on 20 August 1920, and was buried on 24 August at St Mary's Churchyard,

Twyford, Hampshire Twyford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately south of Winchester and near the M3 motorway (Great Britain), M3 motorway and Twyford Down. In 2001, the population of the parish was 1,456. The village and parish are ...

. Agnes died on 18 November 1949. They had no children.

Bibliography

*''Assyrian Deeds and Documents of the 7th Century B.C.'' (3 vols., Cambridge, 1898–1902) *''An Assyrian Doomsday-Book, or Liber Censualis of the District round Harran'' (Leipsig, 1901) *''The Oldest Code of Laws in the World, Promulgated by Hammurabi'' (Edinburgh, 1903) *''Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts, and Letters'' (New York, 1904) *''The Relations Between the Laws of Babylonia and the Laws of the Hebrew Peoples'' (London, 1914)

References

*The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. VI

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Claude Hermann Walter 1857 births 1920 deaths People from Banwell English Assyriologists Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Masters of St Catharine's College, Cambridge People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Faversham Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge