Ashton Sanborn (1882–1970) was an American archaeologist and museum director. He was the executive secretary of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

Commission to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

from 1918 to 1919. He went on archaeological expeditions to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in the 1920s. He served as the secretary of the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

from 1925 to 1952. He was the editor of the ''

American Journal of Archaeology The ''American Journal of Archaeology'' (AJA), the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897 (continuing the ''American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts'' founded by t ...

''.

Early life

Ashton Sanborn was born on March 13, 1882, in

Rochester, New Hampshire Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 census. In addition to the downtown area, the city contains the villages of East Rochester, New Hampshire, East Rochester, Gonic, New Ha ...

. He was son of George Hobbs Sanborn and Lillian Knight Hodgdon. His father died when he was six years old, in 1888. Sanborn was educated at the Somerville Latin High School in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1905, where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1908. He was a Fellow at the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

from 1909 to 1912. He also attended the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

from 1913 to 1914.

Career

Sanborn was archaeologist Lacey Davis Caskey's assistant from 1913 to 1915. He was also

James Loeb James Loeb (; ; August 6, 1867 – May 27, 1933) was an American banker, Hellenist and philanthropist. Biography James Loeb was the second born son of Solomon Loeb and Betty Loeb. He joined his father at Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in 1888 and was made ...

's assistant in Munich. He also taught Latin, Greek and Latin at the Foster School in

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporat ...

. From 1918 to 1919, he served as the executive secretary of the

Commission to

, where he was based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1920, Sanborn was on an expedition to the tomb of

Merenptah Merneptah or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213 BC – May 2, 1203 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years, from late July or early August 1213 BC until his death on May 2, 1 ...

with Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr. and

Clarence Stanley Fisher Clarence Stanley Fisher (August 17, 1876 – July 20, 1941), known as C. S. Fisher, was an American archaeologist. Early life Clarence Stanley Fisher was born on August 17, 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of ...

, where they found

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

's throne. He served as Dr

George Andrew Reisner George Andrew Reisner Jr. (November 5, 1867 – June 6, 1942) was an American archaeologist of Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Palestine. Biography Reisner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents were George Andrew Reisner I and Mary Elizabet ...

's editorial secretary from 1920 to 1925. Sanborn served as the librarian of the

from 1923 to 1925, and as its secretary from 1925 to 1952. He served as the editor of the ''Boston Museum Bulletin'' from 1925 to 1952, and later editor of the ''

''.

Personal life

Sanborn married Agnes Goldman, the granddaughter of rabbi Samuel Adler and

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

's founder

Marcus Goldman Marcus Goldman (born Marcus Goldmann; December 9, 1821 – July 20, 1904) was a Jewish American investment banker, businessman, and financier. He was the founder of Goldman Sachs, which has since become one of the world's largest investment ba ...

; they met in Palestine and married on December 25, 1924. They had a daughter, Sarah Sanborn. They resided at 147 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1940 to 1970.

Death

Sanborn died on June 22, 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanborn, Ashton 1882 births 1970 deaths People from Rochester, New Hampshire People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Academic journal editors Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 20th-century American archaeologists