Raleigh Ashlin Skelton (21 December 1906 – 7 December 1970) is best known for his work on the history of

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

and particularly his attempts to prove the authenticity of the Vinland map.

Life

An enigmatic personality, Skelton was known as "Peter." Skelton was born in

Plymouth, England Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. He was educated at

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ag ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

. He served as the Assistant Keeper of the Department of Printed Books of 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 ...

from 1931 to 1953. From 1939- 1945 he served in the Royal Artillery in the Middle East and Italy. In early 1945 he was assigned to the

Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section Unit (MFAA) was a program established by the Allies of World War II, Allies in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of about 400 service membe ...

in Austria. He is recognized at the website of the

Monuments Men and Women Foundation The Monuments Men and Women Foundation, formerly known as the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, is an American Internal Revenue Service, IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, not-for-profit orga ...

for his work at Stift Hohenfurth, a monastery used by Adolph Hiter as storage for looted treasures intended for the

Führermuseum The ''Führermuseum'' or ''Fuhrer-Museum'' (English language, English: Leader's Museum), also referred to as the Linz art gallery, was an unrealized art museum within a cultural complex planned by Adolf Hitler for his hometown, the Austrian ci ...

. He returned to the British Museum as Deputy Keeper and began work in the Map Room of the British Museum upon his return from military service in 1945. In 1950 he became the Superintendent, in which post he continued until his retirement in 1967 Skelton was instrumental in developing a vision for a cartography center at the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as part of a residency in 1966. He gave the inaugural Nebenzahl Lecture. He died in a car crash in December 1970.

Works

* ''The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation'', written with Thomas E. Marston, and

George Painter George Duncan Painter OBE (5 June 1914 – 8 December 2005), known as George D. Painter, was an English author most famous as a biographer of Marcel Proust. Career Painter was born in Birmingham, England. His father was a schoolmaster, and his m ...

, by

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, * ''History of Cartography'' (with

Leo Bagrow Leo Bagrow (born Lev Semenovich Bagrov; 6 July 1881 – 10 August 1957) was a Russian-born historian of cartography, founder of the journal ''Imago Mundi''. He grew up in Russia, and initially pursued a career within the Imperial Russian Navy. In ...

), originally published in London and Cambridge by C. A. Watts and Harvard University Press in 1964. * Skelton wrote a number of articles and books on maps of explorers including Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

's maps of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, including ''The Marine Surveys of Captain James Cook in North America 1758-1768'', and the English translation and commentary to the facsimile edition of

Antonio Pigafetta Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was a Venetian scholar and explorer. In 1519, he joined the Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the world's first Magellan's circumnavigation, circumnavigation, ...

's narrative account of the first circumnavigation by

Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the Magellan expedition, 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered t ...

(1519-1522),

, 1969.

Professional activities

Skelton served as the Honorary Secretary of the

Hakluyt Society The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishin ...

from 1946 to 1966. He was the General Editor of ''

Imago Mundi ''Imago Mundi'' ( ), or in full ''Imago Mundi: International Journal for the History of Cartography'', is a semiannual peer-reviewed academic journal about mapping, established in 1935 by Leo Bagrow. It covers the history of early maps, cartogra ...

'', the major journal in the field of the history of cartography, from 1957 to 1970 This was a collaboration with R. V. Tooley. He was Chair of the Working Group on Early Maps of the

International Geographical Union The International Geographical Union (IGU; , UGI) is an international geographical society. The first International Geographical Congress was held in Antwerp in 1871. Subsequent meetings led to the establishment of the permanent organization i ...

from 1961. He was also a member of the

Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences The International Academy of the History of Science () is a membership organization for historians of science. The Academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E. Sigerist ...

and of various other societies concerned with history, geography, archaeology, bibliography and archives. During a sabbatical leave in 1962–63, he served as consultant and Acting Map Curator at Harvard University in the Widener Library. His papers are held by the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives in the Memorial University of Newfoundland Library. Wood, A. A. 1989. Professional papers, correspondence, etc., of Raleigh Ashlin (Peter) Skelton (1906-1970): Collection 59 in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives in the Memorial University of Newfoundland Library, St. John’s. St. John’s, Newf.: Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University

Honours

Skelton was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 1951. He was awarded the Gill Memorial of the Royal Geographical Society in 1957 and its Victoria Medal (geography), Victoria Medal in 1970.

References

External links

Bibliographic Essay: History of Cartography
1906 births 1970 deaths Writers from Plymouth, Devon Historians of cartography People educated at Aldenham School Employees of the British Library Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Road incident deaths in England 20th-century English historians Victoria Medal recipients {{cartography-stub