Richard MacGillivray Dawkins FBA (24 October 1871 – 4 May 1955) was a British archaeologist. He was associated with the

British School at Athens The British School at Athens (BSA; ) is an institute for advanced research, one of the eight British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy, that promotes the study of Greece in all its aspects. Under UK law it is a reg ...

(BSA), of which he was Director between 1906 and 1913.

Early life

Richard MacGillivray Dawkins was the son of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Richard Dawkins of Stoke Gabriel and his wife Mary Louisa McGillivray, only surviving daughter of Simon McGillivray. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and 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 ...

where he trained as an electrical engineer.

Academic career

He took part in the BSA's excavations at Palaikastro, and the survey of Lakonia (see Artemis Orthia and Menelaion, Sparta); also at Rhitsona. He undertook linguistic fieldwork in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

from 1909 to 1911, which resulted in a basic work on

Cappadocian Greek Cappadocian Greek (, also known as Cappadocian is a dialect of modern Greek, originally spoken in Cappadocia (modern-day Central Turkey) by the descendants of the Byzantine Greeks of Anatolia. The language originally diverged from Medieval Gree ...

. Then, he led a dig at

Phylakopi Phylakopi (), located at the northern coast of the island of Milos, is one of the most important Bronze Age settlements in the Aegean and especially in the Cyclades. The importance of Phylakopi is in its continuity throughout the Bronze Age (i. ...

from 1911. Dawkins was a fellow of

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He was director of the

from 1906 to 1913. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as an

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...

attached to the Royal Navy in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. In December 1919, he was elected the first Bywater Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature in 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 ...

. In 1922, he became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

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 ...

. Between 1928 and 1930, Dawkins served as president of the Folklore Society, and in his later life published three considerable collections of Greek folk tales. In 1907, Dawkins inherited the Plas Dulas estate in Llanddulas,

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

, north

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

from a first cousin. There, he experimented with plant importation and cultivation. He also displayed archaeological antiquities within the garden. Visitors included Noel Coward and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

Works

*''Modern Greek in Asia Minor'' (1916) *''The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta'' (1929) *''The Cypriot Chronicle of Makhairas'' (1932) *''The Monks of Athos'' (1936) *''Forty-Five Stories from the Dodecanese'' (1950) *''Arabian Nights'' * Norman Douglas ( G. Orioli, 1933 ungarno series revised 1952) *''Modern Greek Folktales'' (1953) *''More Greek Folktales'' (1955) *''More Stories from the Arabian Nights'' (1957)

References

Other sources

External links

*
Richard MacGillivray Dawkins (1871–1955), Scholar of classical and modern Greek
portraits in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Richard MacGillivray 1871 births 1955 deaths People from Surbiton People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of King's College London 20th-century British archaeologists Directors of the British School at Athens Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford Presidents of the Folklore Society Explorers of West Asia Royal Navy officers of World War I World War I spies for the United Kingdom