Sir John Gardner Wilkinson: The ‘other founder’ of British Egyptology

Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797-1875) – antiquary and traveller – was the foremost Egyptologist in Regency-era Britain. Like William Flinders Petrie, Wilkinson used an unusual middle name, which was originally the first part of a double-barrelled surname, as if a first name. His father was John Wilkinson, while his mother’s maiden name was Mary Anne Gardner. Unfortunately, both passed away while Wilkinson was a young child, but they had already given him an avid interest in other societies and in travel, an aptitude for languages (primarily Greek and Latin), and an excellent artistic hand. Today Petrie is conventionally regarded as the foremost pioneer – even ‘founding father’