Edward Maunde Thompson
Sir Edward Maunde Thompson | |
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paleographer , museum director | |
Title | Sir |
Sir Edward Maunde Thompson
He is noted for his handbook of Greek and Latin palaeography and for his study of William Shakespeare's handwriting in the manuscript of the play Sir Thomas More.[2]
Biography
Thompson was born in Jamaica, where his father, Edward Thompson, was
Thompson was made Keeper of the Manuscripts at the British Museum in 1878. [4] He served as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum from 1888 to 1909.[5] He set high standards for the staff of the museum, and worked hard to improve the accessibility of the collections to the public.[6] He secured premises at Hendon to house the museum's newspaper collection.
The photographic facsimile of Codex Alexandrinus was issued under his supervision in 1879 and 1880. He was a founding member of the British Academy in 1901, and served as its second President (1907–09).
He retired from the British Museum in August 1909 due to ill health.[6]
In 1916, he published his palaeographic study of the three-page addition to the manuscript of Sir Thomas More, arguing that the three pages in "Hand D" were in Shakespeare's autograph. In 1923, he contributed to the definitive study Shakespeare's Hand in the Play of Sir Thomas More, with
Maunde Thompson is buried in Brookwood Cemetery.[6]
Awards
Maunde Thompson was knighted in 1895. He received honorary degrees from Oxford, Durham, St. Andrews and Manchester Universities, and was an honorary fellow of University College, Oxford.
Legacy
At Maunde Thompson's request, the portrait of him painted in 1909 by
Bibliography
- English illuminated manuscripts (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1895)
- Introduction to Greek and Latin Palaeography, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912.
- Facsimiles of Ancient Manuscripts, London: Oxford University Press, 1913–30.
- Shakespeare's Handwriting: A Study, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.
Family
In 1864, Thompson married Georgiana Susanna McKenzie, daughter of George McKenzie of Fairfield, from an old
References
- The British Museum.
- ^ "Obituary: Sir Edward Maunde Thompson". The Times. 16 September 1929. p. 14.
- ^ Jamaican Historical Society Bulletin, Volume 11, Number 1, April 1998.
- ^ Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ Kenyon, Sir Frederic G., Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, 1840–1929. London: H. Milford, 1929.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36488. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Oil painting". The British Museum. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
Portrait of Sir Edward Maunde Thompson (1840-1929). T.Q.L., seated, body turned half-r., eyes looking full, holding a book; an illuminated manuscript open on a desk beside him. Oil painting on canvas