Edward Thurlow Leeds (29 July 1877 – 17 August 1955) was an English

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, ...

and

museum curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

. He was Keeper of the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

from 1928 to 1945.

Biography

He was born in Eyebury,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

on 29 July 1877, the second son of Alfred Nicholson Leeds,

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

and Fellow of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

, and his wife Ferrier. He was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

and then as a classical scholar at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. After graduation in 1899, his first position was as

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. He spent two years in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to learn the language. In 1903, ill health forced him to abandon this career path. In five years of

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. Details It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a sou ...

, he spent much time on geological work in the

gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Gravel pit lakes are typically nutrient rich and ...

s at Eyebury, where his interest in archaeology developed. In 1908, he was appointed an Assistant Keeper at the Ashmolean Museum,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Later that year, the museum was reorganised, and he became Assistant Keeper of the Department of Antiquities. Throughout the period of his Assistant Keepership, his main field of research was

Anglo-Saxon archaeology The archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England is the study of the archaeology of England from the 5th century AD to the 11th century, when it was ruled by Germanic tribes known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons. History and overview The Anglo-Saxon per ...

. In 1928, he was appointed Keeper of the Ashmolean and of the Department of Antiquities. He held both those positions until his retirement in 1945. After his retirement, he continued to work in the Ashmolean, where he catalogued collections of Chinese, Annamese and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n coins in the Heberden Coin Room. He married Alice Marjory Wright in 1925. She accompanied him on some of his excavations. He died at his home in Oxford on 17 August 1955. A ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' in his honour was published in London in 1956. Leeds saw a draft of the book and began writing a response to an essay by C. F. C. Hawkes. Though incomplete, the paper was edited by Sonia Chadwick and published posthumously in the first volume of ''

Medieval Archaeology ''Medieval Archaeology'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the archaeology of the medieval period, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in 1957 by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and is publish ...

''.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, Edward Thurlow 1877 births 1955 deaths People from Peterborough People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 20th-century English archaeologists English numismatists People associated with the Ashmolean Museum Keepers and directors of the Ashmolean Museum