Ronald Montagu Burrows (16 August 1867 – 14 May 1920) was a British archaeologist and academic, who served as Principal of King's College London from 1913 to 1920.

Biography

He was born on 16 August 1867 in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

, England, the son of the Rev. Leonard Francis Burrows, a master at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, and his wife Mary Vicars. He was educated at Charterhouse School. and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1886, graduating in Greats in 1890. Burrows began his academic career as assistant to

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece ...

, Professor of Greek at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1891 to 1897. Burrows was then appointed Professor of Greek at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, where he taught from 1898 until 1908. He was Hulme Professor of Greek at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

between 1908 and 1913. In 1913, he was appointed Principal of King's College London, a post he held until his death in 1920. His time there was marked by the foundation of the Koreas Chair. Burrows was also involved in bringing Greece into 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 ...

as a political and military ally of the United Kingdom. He was a strong, uncritical supporter of Eleftherios Venizelos.

Works

Burrows was a noted archaeologist who carried out excavations in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

at Pílos (ancient Pylos, on the Coryphasium promontory) and the nearby island of

Sfaktiría Sphacteria ( el, Σφακτηρία - ''Sfaktiria'') also known as Sphagia (Σφαγία) is a small island at the entrance to the bay of Pylos in the Peloponnese, Greece. It was the site of three battles: *the 425 BC Battle of Sphacteria in the ...

. This work helped to establish studies of the Minoan civilization. With

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

and

Annie Ure Annie Dunman Ure (née Hunt, January 3, 1893 - 13 July 1976) was an English archaeologist, who from 1922 to 1976 was the first Curator of the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology. She and her husband Percy Ure conducted important excavations at Rit ...

, he undertook major excavations at

Rhitsona Vathy ( el, Βαθύ) is a town and a community in the municipal unit of Avlida in the Euboea regional unit, Greece. It is situated on the Greek mainland, near the South Euboean Gulf, 6 km south of Chalcis. The Greek National Road 44 ( Thebes - ...

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

References

Bibliography

*George Glasgow, ''Ronald Burrows: a memoir''. London, 1924.

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica ArticleCollected papers of Ronald M. Burrows
* (under multiple adjacent headings) 1867 births 1920 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of Cardiff University Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Principals of King's College London Fellows of King's College London British historians British archaeologists Scholars of ancient Greek pottery British Christian socialists {{UK-archaeologist-stub