Oliver R. Gurney

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Oliver Robert Gurney (born January 28, 1911 in Norfolk , † January 11, 2001 in Oxford ) was a British Hittite scientist .

Life

Gurney, the son of the zoologist Robert Gurney , attended Eton College and graduated from New College (Oxford) with a degree in classical studies, which he graduated in 1933. In the winter semester of 1935/36 Gurney was in Berlin to expand his knowledge of Hittite with Hans Ehelolf , who was also a curator at the Vorderasiatisches Museum . After his return to England, Gurney was awarded a Hittite Prayer of Mursili II. PhD. After the end of the Second World War he was offered the Shillito Readership in Assyriology in Oxford , which he accepted and then held for 33 years. In 1965 Gurney was awarded the title of professor by the university for his achievements and merits. His scientific work included u. a. also the text publication of Assyrian cuneiform tablets that were excavated by Seton Lloyd in Sultantepe in 1951/52 and are now in the possession of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara . In addition to many other publications, the book "The Hittites" is one of the most important and widespread writings of Gurney, which offered many interested laypeople, but also generations of students, an introduction to the subject of the Hittites .

In 1959 he was elected a member ( Fellow ) of the British Academy .

Publications (selection)

  • The Hittites. Penguin, London a. a. 1952
    • German: The Hittites. VEB Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1969. ( Fundus series 22/23) (2nd revised edition 1980)

literature

  • Seton Lloyd: In Honor of Professor Oliver Robert Gurney, MA, D.Phil., FBA In: Anatolian Studies 30, 1980 ( Special Number in Honor of the Seventieth Birthday of Professor OR Gurney ), ISSN  0066-1546 , pp. 3– 4th
  • JD Hawkins: Oliver Robert Gurney, 1911-2001 . In: Proceedings of the British Academy . tape 120 , 2003, p. 219-240 ( thebritishacademy.ac.uk [PDF]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Deceased Fellows. British Academy, accessed June 4, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Gurney, Oliver R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gurney, Oliver Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Hittiteologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Norfolk
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 2001
Place of death Oxford