BUDGE, SIR ERNEST ALFRED THOMPSON WALLIS

(1857–1934)

   British orientalist. He was born in Bodmin, England, on 27 July 1857 of illegitimate birth. While working in London as a youth, he was attracted to the displays of the ancient Egyptian and Assyrian world in the British Museum. His enthusiasm was noted by the then keeper of Oriental antiquities Samuel Birch, who raised enough money to send him to study the topic at the University of Cambridge. He joined the staff of the museum in 1883 and through intrigue managed to oust Keeper Renouf, Birch’s successor, and obtain his position in 1892. Budge proved an active collector of objects for the museum, establishing links with agents and dealers in antiquities in Egypt and Mesopotamia. He grudgingly accepted excavated material from the Egypt Exploration Fund and other sources and was opposed to Flinders Petrie’s ideas about the importance of archaeology. He wrote extensively and often hastily on Egyptian, Coptic, Assyrological, and Ethiopian topics and was well known as a popularizer of the subjects. Although completely outdated, his books are still being reprinted. Budge retired in 1924 and died in London on 23 November 1934.