Richard Anthony Parker

Richard Anthony Parker (born December 10, 1905 in Chicago , † June 3, 1993 ) was an American Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology.

biography

Parker left Mt. Carmel High School with the later famous author James T. Farrell after completing his school career . In the 1930s he attended the University of Chicago , where he received his doctorate in 1938 .

After completing his training, Parker moved from Chicago to Luxor to work as an epigrapher . During this time he studied the mortuary of King Ramses III. more accurate. However, the imminent outbreak of World War II prevented Parker from continuing his work, so he returned to his hometown and taught for the next few years at the University of Chicago as an Egyptologist. In 1946 he was able to return to Egypt and soon enjoyed several promotions until he became director of the project.

In 1948 Parker founded the Department of Egyptology at Brown University and became its first chairman.

His greatest preferences were ancient science and mathematics. In 1951 he traveled to Egypt to examine finds that were associated with ancient astronomy . In the following years he devoted himself to several papyri in Paris , Copenhagen , Florence , Vienna and Oxford . Parker's main focus was on the ancient Egyptian language - including the demotic -, astronomy, the Egyptian chronology and calendar . Parker's work ensured that other scientists continued to devote themselves to the topics of the ancient Egyptian administrative and ancient Egyptian lunar calendars .

In 1971 the British Academy recognized Parker as a corresponding fellow , the highest distinction that academies in Great Britain can bestow. He was the first American to be honored in this way. Parker was later also a member of the Egyptian Art Department at the Museum of Fine Arts .

Publications

• Medinet Habu Demotic Ostracon 4038. (1938) (Dissertation).
• with Waldo H. Dubberstein: Babylonian Chronology 626 BC - AD 45 (= Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization. 24, ISSN  0081-7554 ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL 1942.
• The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (= Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization. 26). University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL 1950.
• Sothic Dates and Calendar. Adjustment. In: Revue d'Egyptologie. Vol. 9, 1952, ISSN  0035-1849 , pp. 101-108.
• The Problem of the Month-Names: A Reply. In: Revue d'Egyptologie. Vol. 11, 1957, pp. 85-107.
• The Lunar Dates of Thutmose III and Ramesses II. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies . Vol. 16, No. 1, 1957, pp. 39-43, JSTOR 542463 .
• A Vienna Demotic Papyrus on Eclipse- and Lunar-Omina (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 2, ZDB -ID 1478631-X ). Brown University Press, Providence RI 1959.
• with Otto Neugebauer : Egyptian Astronomical Texts. 3 (in 4) volumes. Brown University Press et al., Providence RI et al. 1960-1969;
  • Volume 1: The Early Decans (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 3). 1960;
  • Volume 2: The Ramesside Star Clocks (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 5). 1964;
  • Volume 3: Decans, Planets, Constellations and Zodiacs (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 6, 1-2). 2 volumes (text volume, table volume). 1969.
• A string Oracle Papyrus From Thebes in the Brooklyn Museum. Papyrus Brooklyn 47.218.3 (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 4). Brown University Press, Providence RI 1962.
• Two Demotic Astronomical Papyri in the Carlsberg Collection. In: Acta Orientalia. Vol. 26, No. 3/4, 1962, ISSN  0001-6438 , pp. 143-147.
• The Calendars and Chronology. In: John R. Harris (Ed.): The Legacy of Egypt. 2nd edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1971, ISBN 0-19-821912-1 , pp. 13-26.
• Demotic Mathematical Papyri (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 7). Brown University Press, Providence RI 1972, ISBN 0-87057-132-X .
• Ancient Egyptian Astronomy. In: Frank R. Hodson (Ed.): The Place of Astronomy in the Ancient World. A Joint Symposium of the Royal Society and the British Society. Oxford University Press, London 1974, ISBN 0-19-725944-8 , pp. 51-65, (Also published as: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Academy of London . Series A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Vol. 276, No. 1257, 1974, pp. 51-65, JSTOR 74274 ).
• with Jean Leclant and Jean-Claude Goyon : The Edifice of Taharqa by the Sacred Lake of Karnak (= Brown Egyptological Studies. 8). Brown University Press et al., Providence RI et al. 1979, ISBN 0-85331-423-3 .
• Leonard H. Lesko (Ed.): Egyptological Studies in Honor of Richard A. Parker. Presented on the Occasion of His 78th Birthday, December 10, 1983. University Press of New England, Hanover NH et al. 1986, ISBN 0-87451-321-9 .

Web links

• John Larson & Janet Johnson, In Memoriam: Richard Anthony Parker (1993)