E. A. Wallis Budge
A British Museum curator whose relentless acquisitions and popular books opened the world of Egyptian hieroglyphs and cuneiform to the Victorian public.
1857–1934 (age 77)·British academic·Birthday: July 27
Biography
E.A. Wallis Budge was a force of nature in the crowded field of Victorian Egyptology, operating with a mix of scholarly zeal and a showman's instinct. Hired by the British Museum, he embarked on daring buying expeditions to Egypt and Sudan, often racing against European rivals to secure papyri, mummies, and cuneiform tablets that would swell the museum's holdings. His true impact, however, lay in translation and publication. Budge worked at a furious pace, producing dictionaries, grammars, and accessible books on Egyptian religion and magic. While his methods and some theories were later challenged, he succeeded in his primary mission: demystifying ancient texts for a hungry general audience. He made the Book of the Dead a household name and turned the esoteric study of hieroglyphs into a popular pursuit, for which he was knighted in 1920.
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1857Born
1862Started school
President: Abraham Lincoln
1870Became a teenager
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1873Could drive
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1875Could vote
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1878Turned 21
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1887Turned 30
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1897Turned 40
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1907Turned 50
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1917Turned 60
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
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1927Turned 70
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1934Died at 77
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
Key Achievements
- Served as the Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum for over three decades.
- Published a vast number of works, including a hieroglyphic dictionary that remained a standard reference for decades.
- Secured the Papyrus of Ani, a magnificent copy of the Book of the Dead, for the British Museum during a collecting trip to Egypt.
- Was knighted in 1920 for his contributions to Egyptology and the British Museum.
Did You Know?
He taught himself Akkadian and other ancient languages while working as a clerk before joining the British Museum.
His purchasing trips were famously competitive, and he was known to smuggle antiquities out of Egypt in diplomatic pouches.
He wrote many of his popular books at night, after his official museum duties were complete.
Budge was a prolific author, with his bibliography listing over 140 volumes.
“The ancient Egyptians believed the heart was weighed against the feather of truth.”
