Thomas Julian Brown, FBA, FSA, FKC (1923–1987), commonly called Julian Brown, was an English

palaeographer Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic discipline of historical writing systems. It encompasses the historicity of manuscripts and texts, subsuming deciphering and dati ...

. He was the Professor of Palaeography at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

from 1961 to 1984.

Early life and education

Born on 24 February 1923, Brown was the son of a

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

father and a mother (Helen) who received the MBE for services in the

WRVS The Royal Voluntary Service (known as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) from 1938 to 1966; Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) from 1966 to 2004 and WRVS from 2004 to 2013) is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need ...

in the Second World War. His half-sister (by his father Thomas's first wife) was Mabel Raven Brown, known as Betty (married name Gilson; 1909–1965), who became a botanist and fellow of

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

. After attending

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, Julian Brown attended

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, before serving in the Army during Second World War. He returned to Christ Church after demobilisation and graduated with a

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

degree in 1948.

Career

In 1950, Brown was appointed an assistant keeper of the Department of Manuscripts at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

."Brown, Prof. Thomas Julian"
'' Who Was Who '' (online ed., Oxford University Press, 2021). Retrieved 8 August 2021. In 1953, the museum initiated a project to publish a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

of the

Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the Bri ...

with a volume of

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

; the other staff in the department were too busy to complete the

palaeographical Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic discipline of historical writing systems. It encompasses the historicity of manuscripts and texts, subsuming deciphering and dati ...

commentary, so the responsibility passed to Brown, who had no formal instruction in the subject and had only been at the museum for three years. The commentary appeared in 1960 as part of the second volume of ''Evangeliorum Quattuor Codex Lindisfarnensis'' and it established his reputation. That year, he succeeded

Francis Wormald Francis Wormald (1904 - 11 January 1972) was a British educator who served as director of the Institute of Historical Research from 1960 to 1967. In 1948 he held the Sandars Readership in Bibliography at Cambridge University The University ...

as Professor of Palaeography at

. He published ''The Stonyhurst Gospel of St John'' (1969), ''The Durham Ritual'' (1969) and, with C. D. Verey and E. Coatsworth, '' Durham Gospels'' (1980). He retired from his chair at King's in 1984, having served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Faculty of Arts from 1968 to 1970.Alexander (1989), p. 358. He published ''Codex Vaticanus Palatinus Latinus 235'' in 1989 (edited with T. Mackay). Brown was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1956. He gave the Jarrow Lecture in 1971; he was the E. A. Lowe Memorial Lecturer at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, in 1973 and the Lyell Reader in Bibliography at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

for 1976–77. In 1978, he gave the R. W. Chambers Memorial Lecture at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

.Alexander (1989), pp. 349, 352. Elected a

fellow of King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 1975, he was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

in 1986. He was elected a

fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 1982. He died, aged 63, on 19 January 1987; he was survived by his second wife and the two children from his first marriage which ended in divorce."Professor Julian Brown", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London), 24 January 1987, p. 18. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Julian 1923 births 1987 deaths English palaeographers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of King's College London Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the Bibliographical Society