Sir Archibald Laurence Patrick Kirwan KCMG (13 May 1907 – 16 April 1999) was a British archaeologist and geographer who made major contributions to the study of

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and

South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', in his obituary, called him "one of the last survivors of the heroic age of archaeology". As Director and Secretary of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

from 1945 until 1975, he helped organize the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. Kirwan was born in Cork, Ireland, second son of Patrick John Kirwan, of Cregg, County Galway, from an old Galway gentry family who built Cregg Castle in the 1600s, and Mabel, née Norton.Merton College Register 1900-1964 with notices of some older surviving members, R. G. C. Levens, Merton College, 1964, p. 177 After

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The s ...

, Wimbledon, Kirwan matriculated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

in 1925, but left the following year before completing his degree. (He later returned to his studies, and was awarded a

BLitt BLitt may refer to: * Bachelor of Letters, a second bachelor's degree awarded in Australia, Brazil, UK, and US * Bachelor of Literature, the statutory bachelor's degree in literature studies awarded in China {{Disam ...

in 1935.) He served as assistant director of the Egyptian government's Archaeological Survey of Nubia from 1929 to 1934 and then as field director of Oxford University's expeditions to Nubia between 1934 and 1937. From 1937 until 1939 he held a fellowship at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

and did fieldwork in the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. With the onset of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he became a reserve officer in the Territorial Army, but in 1942 he became a staff officer attached to the Ministry of Defence. After the war, Kirwan took the reins of the Royal Geographical Society. Concurrently from 1961 to 1981 he was President of the

British Institute in Eastern Africa The British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and is dedicated to supporting historical, archaeological, and other social science and humanities research in eastern Africa. The BIEA is sponsored by the British A ...

. In 1958, Kirwan was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG), which was raised to Knight Commander in 1972. His first marriage, to Joan Chetwynd in 1932, ended in divorce. The couple had one daughter. In 1949, he married Stella Monck (she died in 1997). He died in a London hospice at the age of 91.

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