Sir Eric Gardner Turner

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(26 February 1911 – 20 April 1983) was an English

papyrologist Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...

and

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. Turner was born in Broomhill, Sheffield. He was educated at King Edward VII School and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, and taught

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

from 1936 to 1948, although from 1941 to 1945 he served in the Naval Intelligence Division at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

. In 1948 he became first

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in Papyrology at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, and was promoted to professor in 1950. He retired in 1978. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1975 and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1981. He was an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Works

* ''Catalogue of Greek and Latin papyri and ostraca in the possession of the University of Aberdeen.'' University Press, Aberdeen, 1939. *

Bernard Pyne Grenfell Bernard Pyne Grenfell FBA (16 December 1869 – 18 May 1926) was an English scientist and Egyptologist. Life Grenfell was the son of John Granville Grenfell FGS and Alice Grenfell. He was born in Birmingham and brought up and educated at Clif ...

Arthur Surridge Hunt Arthur Surridge Hunt, FBA (1 March 1871 – 18 June 1934) was an English papyrologist. Hunt was born in Romford, Essex, England. Over the course of many years, Hunt, along with Bernard Grenfell, recovered many papyri from excavation sites in E ...

, Eric Gardner Turner (eds.): ''The Hibeh papyri.''

Egypt Exploration Fund The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization. The society was founded in 1882 by Amelia Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole in order to examine and excavate in the areas of Egypt and Sudan. The intent was to study and an ...

, London, 1906. * ''Athenian books in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. An inaugural lecture delivered at University College London, 22 May 1951.'' H. K. Lewis and Co., London, 1952. * ''Greek Papyri. An Introduction.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford 1968; first paperback edition 1980, . Italian edition: Rome 1984. * ''New fragments of the Misoumenos of Menander.'' The University of London,

Institute of Classical Studies The Institute of Classical Studies is a research institution associated with the University of London and a member of the School of Advanced Study. The institute is a national and international research institute in the languages, literature, his ...

, London 1965 (Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Supplement 17). * ''Ménandre. Sept exposés suivis de discussions, Vandoeuvres-Genève 1969.'' Entretiens préparés et présidés par Eric G. Turner. Foundation Hardt pours l'Etude de l'Antiquité Classique, Vandoeuvres, 1970 (Entretien sur l'Antiquité Classique, t. 16). * ''Greek manuscripts of the ancient world.'' Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1971, . The second edition revised and enlarged. Edited by

Peter J. Parsons Peter John Parsons, (24 September 1936 – 16 November 2022) was a British classicist and academic specialising in papyrology. He was Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford from 1989 to 2003. Early life and education Parsons w ...

. The University of London,

, 1987 (Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 46), . * ''The Papyrologist at Work.'' Durham, NC, Duke University, 1973. * with T. S. Pattie: ''The written word on papyrus. An exhibition held in The British Museum, 30 July - 27 October 1974.'' Published for the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Board by

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Publications Limited. London, British Library, 1974, . * ''The Typology of the Early Codex.'' Philadelphia 1977. * Menander (of Athens.), Eric Gardner Turner: ''The lost beginning of Menander, Misoumenos.'' Volume 63 of Proceedings, British Academy. Oxford University Press, 1978

References

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

1911 births 1983 deaths People from Broomhill and Sharrow Vale People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the University of Aberdeen Academics of University College London Bletchley Park people English classical scholars British papyrologists Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British historians British classical philologists Members of the American Philosophical Society {{UK-historian-stub