John Henry Middleton (5 October 1846 – 10 June 1896) was an archaeologist and a museum director.

Early years

He was born 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 ...

on 5 October 1846, John Henry Middleton was the only surviving child of John Middleton and Maria Margaret, daughter of

James Pigott Pritchett James Pigott Pritchett (14 October 1789 – 23 May 1868) was an English architect. He lived in London and York and his practice stretched from Lincolnshire to the Scottish borders. Personal life Pritchett was born on 14 October 1789 to Char ...

and his first wife, Peggy Maria Terry. As a child he travelled to Italy where he was initially educated. He acquired a love for Italy and its language, which lasted throughout his life. On returning to Britain his parents settled in Cheltenham, where his father practised as an architect and where he attended Cheltenham College. In 1865, he was matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. The following year, however, he suffered a severe depression accentuated by the sudden death of a close friend at Oxford. This led to him confining himself to his room for six years. During this time, through reading and study he laid the foundations of his extensive knowledge of art and archaeology.

Travels

On his recovery, Middleton began a series of journeys around the world. He visited the Americas, including Salt Lake City and the Rocky Mountains, and travelled south from there into Mexico. He travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and North Africa. He undertook a special journey to Fez in Morocco to study the philosophy of Plato as taught there, while there he secured entrance to the Great Mosque by posing as an Islamic pilgrim.

Architect

When he returned to Britain he adopted the profession of an architect and apprenticed in the office of

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, and then as a partner in his father's business at Storey's Gate, Westminster. After his father's death in 1885 he liquidated the firm and began life as a professional archaeologist.

Art and archaeology

Middleton never ceased to pursue his favourite studies of art and archaeology, and even went through a course in the schools of the Royal Academy. His vast knowledge became well known and brought him many friends including

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

, with whom Middleton travelled in Iceland. In 1879, he was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was a frequent contributor to their publications; in 1894 he was elected as vice-president of the society. He also contributed to the 9th edition of the

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

. In 1885, he published his book Ancient Rome, looking at antiquities of Rome, which was followed in 1892 by the Remains of Ancient Rome. From 1886 to 1892, he was

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

professor of fine art at Cambridge. He was given an honorary MA degree at Cambridge in 1886, and in 1887 one from Oxford, followed by a Litt.D. at Cambridge in 1893 and a DCL at Oxford in 1894. He was also honoured with a doctor's degree at the University of Bologna and in 1888 elected a fellow of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

Museum director

In 1889, Middleton was named Director of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

in Cambridge. As director, he was able to show his knowledge and produced the catalogue ''Engraved Gems of Classical Times'' in 1891, ''Illuminated MSS of Classical and Mediaeval Times'' in 1892 as well as a catalogue of The Lewis Collection of Gems. Middleton was also appointed as lecturer at the Royal Academy. In 1892, he was appointed Director of the art collections of the South Kensington Museum (now the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

), at the time the department was in need of reform and reorganisation. He brought in several necessary reforms, but the difficult work coupled with his lifelong depression and drug addiction, increased his despondency and drug use. He accidentally overdosed on morphia at the age of 49 and died on 10 June 1896. His body was cremated at Woking, and the remains interred at Brookwood cemetery.

Family

In 1892, he married Bella Stillman, they had one child.

References

;Attribution

Sources

*
Dictionary of Art Historians

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, John Henry Directors of the Victoria and Albert Museum Drug-related deaths in England 1846 births 1896 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People associated with the Fitzwilliam Museum Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools 19th-century British businesspeople