Ronald Montagu Burrows (16 August 1867 – 14 May 1920) was a British
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
and academic, who served as
Principal
Principal may refer to:
Title or rank
* Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university
** Principal (education), the head of a school
* Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...
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 ...
from 1913 to 1920.
Early life
He was born on 16 August 1867 in
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, its population was 78,117, making it the List of Warwickshire towns by population, secon ...
, England, the son of the Rev. Leonard Francis Burrows, a master at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
, and his wife Mary Vicars. His grandfather was
General Montagu Burrows, and he was a nephew of
Montagu Burrows
Montagu Burrows (27 October 1819 – 10 July 1905) was a British historian. Following a career as an officer in the Royal Navy, he was the first Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, holding the Chair from 1862 until his de ...
, Chichele Professor at Oxford. He was educated at
Charterhouse and
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 ...
, artiving there in 1886 and graduating in
Greats in 1890.
He had an older brother,
Leonard Hedley Burrows (1857–1940), who became the first
Bishop of Sheffield
The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York.
A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of She ...
.
Career
Burrows began his academic career as assistant to
Gilbert Murray
George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...
,
Professor of Greek at the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
from 1891 to 1897. In 1898, Burrows was appointed Professor of Greek at
University College, Cardiff
Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
, where he taught until 1908. He was Hulme Professor of Greek at the
University of Manchester
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 ...
between 1908 and 1913. In 1913, he was appointed
Principal of King's College London, a post he held until his death in 1920. His time there was marked by the foundation of the
Koreas Chair.
Burrows was a strong, uncritical supporter of
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
and played a part in bringing Greece into 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 ...
as a political and military ally of the British Empire.
Works
Burrows was a noted archaeologist who carried out excavations in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
at Pílos (ancient
Pylos
Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...
, on the Coryphasium promontory) and the nearby island of
Sfaktiría. This work helped to establish studies of the
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan palaces at K ...
. With
Percy and
Annie Ure, he undertook major excavations at
Rhitsona in
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...
.
References
Bibliography
*George Glasgow, ''Ronald Burrows: a memoir''. London, 1924.
External links
Encyclopædia Britannica ArticleCollected papers of Ronald M. Burrows* (under multiple adjacent headings)
1867 births
1920 deaths
People educated at Charterhouse School
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Academics of Cardiff University
Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester
Principals of King's College London
Fellows of King's College London
British historians
British archaeologists
Scholars of ancient Greek pottery
British Christian socialists
{{UK-archaeologist-stub