Kate Bradbury Griffith (née Bradbury; 26 August 1854 – 2 March 1902) was a British

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

who assisted in the early development of the

Egypt Exploration Society The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization founded in 1882 for the purpose of financing and facilitating the exploration of significant archeological sites in Egypt and Sudan, founded by writer Amelia Edwards and coin ...

and the Department of Egyptology 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 ...

(UCL).Bierbier, M. 2012. ''Who's Who in Egyptology''. London: Egypt Exploration Society Bradbury was born in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

, near Manchester, UK, to Elizabeth Ann Tomlins and businessman Charles Timothy Bradbury. Kate Bradbury Griffith

Career in Egyptology

Bradbury was among the early supporters of the

Egypt Exploration Fund The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization founded in 1882 for the purpose of financing and facilitating the exploration of significant archeological sites in Egypt and Sudan, founded by writer Amelia Edwards and coin ...

(EEF), founded in 1882 to support British excavations in Egypt. Her friend, the journalist and traveller

Amelia Edwards Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (7 June 1831 – 15 April 1892), also known as Amelia B. Edwards, was an English novelist, journalist, traveller and Egyptologist. Her literary successes included the ghost story ''The Phantom Coach'' (1864), the nov ...

, was a founding member of the EEF. Kate Bradbury met Amelia Edwards in late 1887 or early 1888, and Bradbury was 20 years younger than Edwards. By May 1888, Bradbury was staying regularly with Edwards and her companion Ellen Braysher at their home, The Larches. As Ellen became ill, Bradbury took on more of the role of Edwards' companion and confidant. From 1888 to 1892, Bradbury lived with Edwards almost full time. Edwards trained her in the daily administration of the Egypt Exploration Fund, and to be her own personal secretary. She was a Committee member and one of the Fund's local secretaries, helping to gather subscriptions in Britain on the Fund's behalf.Petrie, W. M. F. 1901-1902. ''Archaeological Report'' (Egypt Exploration Fund), p. 37 When Edwards died in 1892, Bradbury became her executrix. In her will Edwards gave her collection of Egyptian antiquities to

. She had also provided the funding for the

Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology The Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology is a university professorial chair held at University College London. History The chair was founded on the death of Amelia Edwards of the Egyptian Exploration Fund in 1892, who bequea ...

to be established. The archaeologist

William Matthew Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of ...

was the first postholder.Janssen, R. 1992. ''The First Hundred Years: Egyptology at University College London''. London: University College London A former student of Petrie's,

Francis Llewellyn Griffith Francis Llewellyn Griffith (27 May 1862 – 14 March 1934) was an eminent British Egyptologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and education F. Ll. Griffith was born in Brighton on 27 May 1862 where his father, Rev. Dr. ...

came to UCL to teach ancient Egyptian language.Simpson, R. S. 2004-2014. Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1862-1934). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' nline edn/ref> Kate Bradbury continued to contribute to Egyptology. She provided additional display cases to house the Edwards Collection at UCL, and coordinated unpacking the antiquities and placing them in the cases. She collaborated with Griffith in translations of ancient Egyptian texts, which were published in the multi-volume work ''A Library of the World's Great Literature'' (Vol 9, 1896). She also translated Dr

Alfred Wiedemann Alfred Wiedemann (18 July 1856 – 7 December 1936) was a German Egyptologist. He was the son of physicist Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann and the younger brother of physicist Eilhard Wiedemann. He was a son-in-law to psychiatrist Carl Maria Finkelnbu ...

's ''Egyptian Doctrine of Immortality'' (1895) and ''Religion of the Ancient Egyptians'' (1897) into English from German. Bradbury Griffith helped

Norman de Garis Davies The Egyptologists Nina M. Davies (6 January 1881 – 21 April 1965) and Norman de Garis Davies (1865–5 November 1941) were a married couple of illustrators and copyists who worked in the early and mid-twentieth century drawing and recording pain ...

to become a copyist on Petrie's excavation at

Dendera Dendera ( ''Dandarah''; ; Bohairic ; Sahidic ), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient Iunet 𓉺𓈖𓏏𓊖 “jwn.t”, Tentyris,(Arabic: Ewan-t إيوان-ة ), or Tentyra is a small town and former bishopric in Egypt situated on the west bank of ...

for the 1897/1898 season.

Trip to the United States

In 1890 Bradbury accompanied Edwards on a lecture tour of America, where Edwards was promoting and fundraising for the EEF. The American tour began on with Edwards' first lecture on November 7, 1889 at the Brooklyn Institute (which would become the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

). It ended on March 28, 1890 at the Brooklyn Institute with Edwards' final lecture. The two women sailed back the following day on the ''Etruria''.

Personal life

Bradbury married Francis Griffith in 1896, with Petrie's blessing and a little convincing. They collaborated on a lot of work together for the next 6 years. The Griffiths lived together in the home of Kate's father, near Manchester. Griffith was appointed to the post of Honorary Professor of Egyptology at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. However, Bradbury Griffith continued her relationship with UCL, providing funding for the Edwards Library, which held a growing collection of Egyptology books. She died in March, 1902.

References

External links

Griffith, F. and Bradbury Griffith, K. 1896. Egyptian Literature. ''A Library of the World's Great Literature''. pp. 5225-5344
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Kate Bradbury 1854 births 1902 deaths British Egyptologists People from Ashton-under-Lyne