Henry Maurice Platnauer (1857 – 1 October 1939) was a British

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

and Museum Curator.

Career

Platnauer was educated at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and at the

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. His academic interests lay in mineralogy and he worked with the Natural History collections of the

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 ...

for eight years before being appointed to the position of Keeper of the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

in 1883, a role he held until 1904. Through this role he subsequently served as a Vice-President of the

Yorkshire Philosophical Society The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire. ...

from 1905 and was elected as an honorary member of the YPS in 1935. Platnauer served as a Volunteer soldier in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and later served in the Territorial Army. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with the rank of Captain and was primarily involved with training units. He and his wife left York in 1912 to live in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, where he stayed until her death in 1920, after which he returned to London. Their son,

Maurice Platnauer Maurice Platnauer (18 June 1887 – 19 December 1974) was Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1956 to 1960. Platnauer was educated at Shrewsbury School and New College, Oxford. A classicist, he was a master at Winchester College from 1 ...

, was a Vice-Principal of

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

Museums Association

Platnauer was one of the founding members of the

Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals, museums, galleries and heritage organisations, and companies that work in the museum, gallery and heritage s ...

, which had its preliminary meeting in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1888 before its first official meeting the following year. Platnauer served as the joint secretary of the Association from 1889 to 1897 and co-edited the annual reports in 1890 to 1896. He eventually became its president, giving the presidential address to the annual meeting in 1911. He was also a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

and a member of the Yorkshire Geological Society.

Publications

*Platnauer, H. M. 1894. "List of Figured Specimens in York Museum", ''Annual Report of the

''. *Platnauer, H. M. 1894. ''Appendix to the list of figured specimens''. York. *Benson, G. and Platnauer, H. M. 1902.
Notes on Cliffords Tower
''Annual Report of the

''. *Howarth, E. and Platnauer, H. M. 1911. ''Directory of Museums in Great Britain & Ireland; together with a section on Indian and Colonial Museums''. *Platnauer, H. M. 1911.
Note on an Inscribed Roman Slab"
''Annual Report of the

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platnauer, Henry Maurice 1857 births British curators 1939 deaths British geologists Yorkshire Museum people British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society Fellows of the Museums Association Alumni of the University of London