Samuel Birch (3 November 1813 – 27 December 1885) 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 ...

and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Grave of Samuel Birch in Highgate Cemetery

Biography

Birch was the son of a rector at St Mary Woolnoth, London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School. From an early age, his manifest tendency to the study of out-of-the-way subjects well suited his later interest in archaeology. After brief employment in the Record Office, he obtained, in 1836, an appointment to the antiquities department 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 ...

. The appointment was due to his knowledge of Chinese, which was unusual at that time. He soon broadened his research to

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

. When the cumbrous department came to be divided, he was appointed to head the Egyptian and Assyrian branch. In the latter language he had assistance, but for many years there was only one other person in the institution, in a different department, who knew anything of ancient Egyptian. The entire arrangement of the department devolved upon Birch. He found time nevertheless for Egyptological work of the highest value, including a hieroglyphical

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

and

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

, translations of ''The

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...

'' and

papyrus Harris I Papyrus Harris I is also known as The Great Harris Papyrus and (less accurately) simply The Harris Papyrus (though there are a number of other papyri in the Harris collection). Its technical designation is ''Papyrus British Museum EA 9999''. At 4 ...

, and numerous catalogues and guides. He further wrote what was long a standard history of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, investigated the Cypriote syllabary, and proved by various publications that he had not lost his old interest in Chinese. Paradoxical in many of his views on things in general, he was sound and cautious as a

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

; while learned and laborious, he possessed much of the instinctive divination of genius. His grandfather, also named

Samuel Birch Samuel Birch may refer to: * Samuel Birch (Egyptologist) (1813–1885), British Egyptologist and antiquary * Lamorna Birch (Samuel John Birch, 1869–1955), English artist * Samuel Birch (athlete) (born 1963), Liberian Olympic sprinter * Samuel Birc ...

, was a renowned dramatist and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

(1814). He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1869. He died on 27 December 1885 and is buried in

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

Publications

''Sketch of a Hieroglyphical Dictionary,''
1838. * ''Analecta Sinensia,'' 1841. *''Select Papyri in the Hieratic Character,'' 3 pts. fol. 1841–4. * ''Tablets from the Collection of the Earl of Belmore,'' 1843. * ''Friends till Death'' (from Chinese), 1845. * ''An Introduction to the Study of the Egyptian Hieroglyphics,'' 1857. * ''History of Ancient Pottery,'' 2 vols. 1858. John Murray, London
Vol. I
* ''Memoire sur une Patere,'' 1858. * ''Select Papyri,'' pt, ii. 18 (50). * ''A Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum'' Part 11. 1861. * ''ChineseWidow'' (from Chinese), 1862. (From ch'in ku ch'i kuan) * '' Elfin Foxes'' (from Chinese), 1863. * ''Papyrus of Nas-Khem,'' 1863. * ''Facsimiles of Egyptian Relics,'' 1863. * ''Facsimiles of two Papyri,'' 1863. * ''Inscriptions in the Himyaritic Character,'' 1863. * ''Egypt's Place in Universal History'', 1867. (Vol. 5 - contributed the first extensive English translation of the Book of the Dead); original written in German by

Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen Christian Charles Josias, Baron von Bunsen (; 25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), was a German diplomat and scholar. He worked in the Papal States and England for a large part of his career. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, a ...

, translated by Charles Herbert Cottrell — Samuel Birch made additions to the 5th volume translated by Cottrell
2021 reprint of 1867 original
** ''Ägyptens Stelle in der Weltgeschichte'', 5 volumes, 1844–57. ** Vol. 1, 1845 , , , ** Vol. 2, 1844 , ** Vol. 3, 1845 , together with vol. 4. ** Vol. 4, Catalogue ** Vol. 5, in two parts, 1857 , , , , * ''The Casket of Gems'' (from Chinese), 1872. (From ch'in ku ch'i kuan) * ''History of Egypt,'' 1875. * ''Facsimile of Papyrus of Rameses III,'' fol. 1876.
''The Monumental History of Egypt: Rede Lecture,''
1876. (See

Rede Lecture The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture (usually Rede Lecture) at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in th ...

.) * '' Egyptian Texts,'' 1877.
''Ancient History from the Monuments: Egypt from Earliest Times to B.C. 300''
1879. * ''Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities at Alnwick Castle,'' 1880. * ''The Coffin of Amamu'' (unfinished).

Citations

General and cited references

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Samuel 1813 births 1885 deaths 19th-century antiquarians 19th-century British archaeologists 19th-century English writers Burials at Highgate Cemetery Employees of the British Museum Birch, Samuels English philologists Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Victorian writers International members of the American Philosophical Society