William Kelly Simpson (January 3, 1928 – March 24, 2017) was an American professor of
Egyptology,
Archaeology,
Ancient Egyptian literature
Ancient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. It represents the oldest corpus of Egyptian literature. Along with Sumerian literature, it is conside ...
, and
Afro-Asiatic languages at
Yale University.
[The Cambridge University Catalogue. (2009)]
The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited
Retrieved on 08-03-2009.
He was one of several co-directors of the
University of Pennsylvania Museum Yale University Expedition to
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos ( ar, أبيدوس, Abīdūs or ; Sahidic cop, Ⲉⲃⲱⲧ ') is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt. It is located about west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern E ...
, which conducts archaeological excavations of ancient sites. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society in 1983.
Personal life
Simpson was born on January 3, 1928, in
New York City, to
Kenneth F. Simpson (1895-1941) and Helen-Louise Knickerbacker Porter (1893-1981).
He married Marilyn Ellen Milton (1931—1980), a granddaughter of philanthropists
John Davison Rockefeller Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Mi ...
William and Marilyn have two children:
* Laura Knickerbacker Simpson (1954-2012)
* Abigail Rockefeller Simpson (born 1958), married Todd Mydland.
Simpson died on March 24, 2017, at the age of 89.
Literature
*Peter Manuelian (editor): ''Studies in Honor of William Kelly Simpson'', Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1996
See also
*
List of Egyptologists
References
American Egyptologists
Yale University faculty
1928 births
2017 deaths
{{US-archaeologist-stub
Members of the American Philosophical Society