John Henry Middleton (5 October 1846 – 10 June 1896) was an

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 a museum director.

Early years

He was born in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

on 5 October 1846, John Henry Middleton was the only surviving child of John Middleton and Maria Margaret, daughter of James Pigott Pritchett and his first wife, Peggy Maria Terry. As a child, he travelled to Italy where he was initially educated. He acquired a love for Italy and its language, which lasted throughout his life. On returning to Britain his parents settled in Cheltenham, where his father practised as an architect and where he attended Cheltenham College. In 1865, he was matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

. The following year, however, he suffered a severe depression accentuated by the sudden death of a close friend at Oxford. This led to him confining himself to his room for six years. During this time, through reading and study, he laid the foundations of his extensive knowledge of art and archaeology.

Travels

On his recovery, Middleton began a series of journeys around the world. He visited the Americas, including

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, and travelled south from there into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He travelled in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. He undertook a special journey to Fez in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to study the philosophy of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

as taught there, while there he secured entrance to the Great Mosque by posing as an Islamic pilgrim.

Architect

When he returned to Britain he adopted the profession of an architect and apprenticed in the office of

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, and then as a partner in his father's business at Storey's Gate, Westminster. After his father's death in 1885, he liquidated the firm and began life as a professional archaeologist.

Art and archaeology

Middleton never ceased to pursue his favourite studies of art and archaeology, and even went through a course in the schools of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. His vast knowledge became well known and brought him many friends including

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

, with whom Middleton travelled in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. In 1879, he was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was a frequent contributor to their publications; in 1894, he was elected as vice-president of the society. He also contributed to the 9th edition of the

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

. In 1885, he published his book Ancient Rome, looking at antiquities of Rome, which was followed in 1892 by the Remains of Ancient Rome. From 1886 to 1892, he was

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

professor of fine art at Cambridge. He was given an honorary MA degree at Cambridge in 1886, and in 1887 one from Oxford, followed by a Litt.D. at Cambridge in 1893 and a DCL at Oxford in 1894. He was also honoured with a doctor's degree at the University of Bologna and in 1888 elected a fellow of

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

Museum director

In 1889, Middleton was named 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 Cambridge. As director, he was able to show his knowledge and produced the catalogue ''Engraved Gems of Classical Times'' in 1891, ''Illuminated MSS of Classical and Mediaeval Times'' in 1892 as well as a catalogue of The Lewis Collection of Gems. Middleton was also appointed as lecturer at the Royal Academy. In 1892, he was appointed Director of the art collections of the South Kensington Museum (now the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

), at the time the department was in need of reform and reorganisation. He brought in several necessary reforms, but the difficult work coupled with his lifelong depression and drug addiction, increased his despondency and drug use. He accidentally overdosed on morphia at the age of 49 and died on 10 June 1896. His body was cremated at Woking, and his remains were interred at Brookwood cemetery.

Family

In 1892, he married Bella Stillman, they had one child.

References

;Attribution

Sources

*
Dictionary of Art Historians

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, John Henry 1846 births 1896 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Directors of the Fitzwilliam Museum 19th-century British businesspeople Directors of the Victoria and Albert Museum Drug-related deaths in England