Augustus Pitt Rivers

@Father of British Archaeology, Birthday and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Augustus Pitt Rivers was an English army officer and archaeologist, often called the “father of British archaeology” British Miscellaneous Aries Celebrities Augustus Pitt Rivers was an English army officer and archaeologist, often called the “father of British archaeology”. He played a major role in the progress of archaeology and ethnology and is credited to have introduced several innovations in archeological methodology. He also brought about notable changes in the manner of displaying archaeological and ethnological collections. Born in a wealthy family in Yorkshire, he chose to pursue a career in the army when he grew up. He enrolled in the Royal Military College at Sandhurst but stayed there only for a very short time. He was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards as an ensign and this marked the beginning of his long and successful career as a military man. Over the course of his military career he developed an interest in ethnology and archaeology during his overseas postings. He was deeply influenced by the evolutionary writings of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, and went on to develop the idea of typology, i.e. the classification of artefacts in a chronological sequence. As luck would have it, he inherited vast estates which contained many archaeological sites and following his retirement from the army, he embarked on a series of excavations of prehistoric, Roman, and Saxon sites on the estates. He was very meticulous in his work and is considered to be the first scientific archaeologist to work in Britain

Personal Details

Birthday: April 14, 1827 Died on: May 4, 1900 Nationality: British Famous: Father of British Archaeology, Miscellaneous Universities: Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Birth Place: Bramham cum Oglethorpe Gender: Male Information Detail Birthday April 14, 1827 Died on May 4, 1900 Nationality British Famous Father of British Archaeology, Miscellaneous Universities Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Birth Place Bramham cum Oglethorpe Gender Male Sun Sign Aries Born in Bramham cum Oglethorpe Famous as Father of British Archaeology Died at Age 73

Bramham cum Oglethorpe

Augustus Pitt Rivers born at Unsplash Birth Place

In February 1853, Pitt Rivers married Alice Stanley, daughter of the politician Edward Stanley, and women's education campaigner Henrietta Stanley. Alice’s parents were initially opposed to the match though they eventually relented. The couple had nine children who survived to adulthood and they remained married for 47 years until Pitt Rivers died in 1900. Unsplash Personal Life

Pitt Rivers died on 4 May 1900, aged 73, in Rushmore Estate, Wiltshire. He had always been an advocate for cremation even at a time when such a practice was illegal in England. His body was cremated after his death according to his wishes. Unsplash Personal Life

He was born as Augustus Henry Lane-Fox on 14 April 1827, in Yorkshire, as the son of William Lane-Fox and Lady Caroline Douglas. His uncles George Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton, George Lane-Fox and Sackville Lane-Fox were prominent personalities. He hailed from an upper-class family. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

The details regarding his early education are not clear though it is believed that he was educated by private tutors at home and was taught subjects that included Latin and Greek. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He then enrolled at the Royal military College at Sandhurst though he spent less than a year at the college. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Augustus Pitt Rivers was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards on 16 May 1845 as an ensign. This marked the beginning of what would be a 32-year long military career. Unsplash Career

Over the course of his army career he bought most of his ranks. In 1850 he bought a promotion to Captain and was promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel of the army "for distinguished Service in the Field" during the Crimean War. Unsplash Career

In 1851, he became a member of the committee that was involved in the testing of rifled weapons. He was assigned the responsibility of instructing the 2nd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards in the use of the new Minié rifle in 1852 and was sent to France, Belgium and Piedmont (Italy) to study their methods of musketry instruction. Unsplash Career

In 1853, Lane-Fox played a pivotal role in the establishment of the new School of Musketry at Hythe in Kent and became its principle instructor, revising its ‘Instruction of Musketry Manuel’. Unsplash Career

In 1857, he bought the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Grenadier Guards, and in 1867, he was promoted as colonel. Unsplash Career

Information	Detail
Birthday	April 14, 1827
Died on	May 4, 1900
Nationality	British
Famous	Father of British Archaeology, Miscellaneous
Universities	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Birth Place	Bramham cum Oglethorpe
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Aries
Born in	Bramham cum Oglethorpe
Famous as	Father of British Archaeology
Died at Age	73

Augustus Pitt Rivers

British

Apr 14, 1827

Biography

Personal Details

Bramham cum Oglethorpe