Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Gell, (Sir) William
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1777-1836
History
British classical archaeologist and traveller; he was born in Hopton, Derbyshire, 1 April 1777, son of Philip G. and Dorothy Milnes; he studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, BA, 1798; MA, 1804; Fellow of Emmanuel College; he studied art at the Royal Academy Schools; he visited the Troad, 1801, and published Topography of Troy, 1804; from 1804 he travelled for some years in Greece, publishing a number of works on the topography and antiquities of the area; he was sent on an archaeological mission to Ionia by the Society of Diletttanti, 1811-3; he was knighted in 1814; he accompanied Princess (later Queen) Caroline to Italy, 1814, and was at the centre of the scandals involving the queen at this time; from 1820 until his death he lived in Rome and Naples; he was very interested in the progress of hieroglyphic decipherment and corresponded with Young, Salt, and Champollion on the subject and encouraged Wilkinson to take up the study of Egyptian antiquities; FRS; FSA; he died in Naples, 4 Feb. 1836; three of his note-books on hieroglyphs are in the Griffith Institute.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
- Who Was Who in Egyptology (4th ed. 2012), 210-11.