William Richard Hamilton, FRS, (9 September 1777 – 11 July 1859) was a British antiquarian, traveller and diplomat.

Early life

Hamilton was born in St Martin-in-the-Fields, London in 1777. He was the son of Rev. Anthony Hamilton,

Archdeacon of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, d ...

and the former Anne Terrick, daughter of

Richard Terrick Richard Terrick (baptised 20 July 1710 – 31 March 1777) was a Church of England clergyman who served as Bishop of Peterborough 1757–1764 and Bishop of London 1764–1777. Life Terrick was born in York, the eldest son of Samuel Terrick, rec ...

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. His brother was Anthony Hamilton, the Archdeacon of Taunton and the father of Bishop

Walter Kerr Hamilton Walter Kerr Hamilton (16 November 1808 – 1 August 1869) was a Church of England priest, Bishop of Salisbury from 1854 until his death. Life He was born in 1808, educated at Eton College, tutored by Thomas Arnold, and then attended Christ Chur ...

. His father was the fifth son of the Scottish antiquarian William Hamilton who had married the heiress Charlotte Styles, and so acquired the Essex manor of Holyfield (Hallifield), in the north-east of the parish of

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and ...

which remained in the family into the 19th century. He studied at Harrow School and St John's College, Cambridge.

Career

In 1799 he was appointed chief private secretary to Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. He was in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

as the British took it over from the French, secured the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancien ...

and superintended its transport to England. "He also superintended the shipment of the Parthenon sculptures for Lord Elgin and the recovery of those subsequently lost at sea." After a voyage up the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

, he wrote a well-known work of Egyptology, '' Ægyptiaca''. From 1809 to 1822 Hamilton served as Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and from 1822 to 1825 he was Minister and Envoy Plenipotentiary at the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, based at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In 1830 he succeeded Sir Thomas Lawrence as Secretary of the Society of Dilettanti, a post which he held until his death in 1859. He was also a Trustee 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 ...

from 1838 until 1858, and donated a number of antiquities to the institution. Upon Hamilton's resignation as trustee of the British Museum, Sir

Frederic Madden Sir Frederic Madden KH (16 February 1801 – 8 March 1873) was an English palaeographer. Biography Born in Portsmouth, he was the son of William John Madden (1757–1833), a Captain in the Royal Marines of Irish origin, and his wife Sarah Carte ...

, the Keeper of Manuscripts, recorded in his diary on 11 February 1858:

''"I was informed today that Mr W. R. Hamilton, the Trustee, had resigned. God be thanked! This is the man who has carried his Italian friend '' Antonio_Panizzi,_q.v..html" ;"title="Antonio_Panizzi.html" ;"title="Antonio Panizzi">Antonio Panizzi, q.v.">Antonio_Panizzi.html" ;"title="Antonio Panizzi">Antonio Panizzi, q.v.' through thick & thin from the time when he first came to the Museum to the present time. A more prejudiced person never existed, nor a greater jobber, when it related to himself or his friends. A man also of violent temper & insolent tongue, whose only & sole aim at the Museum seems to have been to glorify Mr. P. and abuse every thing but the Elgin Marbles. I say again, God be thanked he is gone, and I hope never again to see his ugly face and his crooked legs! He is the only man who ever insulted me in the Committee Room, & yet mean enough to solicit me to lend myself to his dirty jobs, which I always refused to do. The officers of the Department of Antiquities know better than myself what a curse this man has been to the Museum as a Trustee!"''

Personal life

On 3 September 1804 Hamilton was married to Julia Udny, a daughter of Selina Shore Clevland (a daughter of John Clevland MP) and John Udny, the British Consul at Venice and Leghorn. Her brother was Lt.-Col. John Robert Fullerton Udny of Udny Castle,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * William John Hamilton (1805–1867), a geologist who married Martin Trotter, daughter of John Trotter, in 1832. After her death in 1833, he married Hon. Margaret Frances Florence Dillon, a daughter of

Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon Henry Augustus Dillon-Lee, 13th Viscount Dillon (1777–1832), was an Irish politician, soldier and writer. Despite being a Protestant, he supported Catholic emancipation in Ireland and wrote on the topic. He sat as MP for Harwich in England in ...

. * Alexander Edmund Hamilton (1806–1827), who drowned in India. * Capt. Henry George Hamilton (1808–1879), of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

who married Fanny Elizabeth Tower and was the father of Adm. Sir Frederick Hamilton. * Charles Anthony Hamilton (1809–1860), who worked in the Privy Council office and died unmarried. * Arthur Richard Hamilton (1814–1882), who died unmarried. * Gen.

Frederick William Hamilton General Sir Frederick William Hamilton, (8 July 1815 – 4 October 1890) was a British Army officer who served as Major General commanding the Brigade of Guards from 1868 to 1870. Early life Hamilton was born in London in 1815, the son of Will ...

(1815–1890), who married Louisa Anne Erskin Anstruther, a daughter of Sir Alexander Anstruther.London Lady's Newspaper & Pictorial Times, 16 June 1860 Hamilton died in London on 11 July 1859.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, William Richard 1777 births 1859 deaths 18th-century antiquarians 19th-century antiquarians Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Fellows of the Royal Society Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies People educated at Harrow School Elgin Marbles