Gardiner, (Sir) Alan Henderson

British Egyptologist. Born, Eltham 1879. Died, Oxford 1963. Educated at Charterhouse, then studied Classics, Hebrew and Arabic at The Queen's College, Oxford. Worked with A. Erman on the preparation of material for the Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache and was sub-editor 1906-8. Laycock Studentship, Worcester College, Oxford, 1906-12. Edited many Egyptological publications, including the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. Published extensively in the field of Egyptology. Honorary Secretary of the Egypt Exploration Society, 1917-20, Vice President and then President, 1959-63. He was awarded many distinctions during his career. Specialized in hieratic texts on papyri and ostraca. Gardiner published the 1st edition of his Egyptian Grammar in 1927, which is still one of the essential learning aids for Middle Egyptian. Gardiner was also a member of the Tutankhamun excavation team, recording inscriptions from objects found in the tomb during the first few seasons.

• Who Was Who in Egyptology (4th ed. 2012), 205-7 fig. (portrait).