Persona

Lee, John

1783-1866

British ecclesiastical lawyer, antiquarian, and patron of science; he was born at Totteridge, Herts., 28 April 1783, son of John Fiott and Harriet Lee; he graduated from St. John's College, Cambridge; MA, 1809; LLD, 1816; his name was Fiott, but he changed it by royal licence on inheriting from the Revd Sir George Lee, Bart., the estate of Hartwell, Bucks., and other estates elsewhere, 1815; he studied law and was admitted to the Coll. of Advocates, of which he was librarian and Treasurer; he practised in the Ecclesiastical Courts and at the age of 80 was admitted Barrister, Gray's Inn, becoming Bencher and QC the following year; he married 1. Cecilia Rutter, 1833 (11854), 2. Louisa Catherine Heath, 1855; he took great interest in the promotion of science and archaeology all his life, and was a generous patron, forming an extensive library and museum at his seat at Hartwell; he had a rich collection of Egyptian antiquities, many of which he had ,bought at the Barker, Lavoratori, Burton, and Athanasi sales; others he acquired during a visit to Egypt in 1807-10; a printed catalogue of the Egyptian collection, by Bonomi, was issued in 1858; after his death, most of the Egyptian collection was bought by Lord Amherst, his library and MSS were sold at Sotheby's, 1876, and collections of deeds, etc., 8 March 1939; some of the geological specimens and some minor Egyptian pieces are now in the Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury, while other geological specimens are in the Natural History Museum, London. the MS, registers of Lee's Museum in 4 vols. folio are also at Aylesbury; he was foundation member of the Royal Astron. Soc., 1820, President, 1862; FRS, 1831; FSA, 1828; scientific meetings were held at his house and out of these grew the Meteorological Soc., the Syro-Egyptian Soc., the Anglo-Biblical Soc., the Palestine Arch. Assn., and the Chronological Institute; the last four.were dissolved in 1872 and merged in the Soc. of Biblical Arch.; Lee's name is associated with a judicial papyrus which passed into Lord Amherst's coll. and is now in the Pierpont Morgan Library, NY; some of his papers are in the Griffith Institute, Oxford; Lee died, in Hartwell, 25 Feb. 1866.

• Who Was Who in Egyptology (4th ed. 2012), 315-16.