Events Index

1800s

2013-05-16T09:33:06+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place between 1800-1809.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Year	Specific date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1800
1801	Not known	Sir Christopher Pegge was appointed Regius Professor as well as Lee's Reader in Anatomy, he began to form anatomical and physiological collection at Christ Church	Vernon, 1909: 26
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809

Go to the 1810s

AP.

Prior to 1800

2012-08-24T15:00:48+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place before 1800.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Year	Specific date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1524	Unspecified	Thomas Linacre bequeathed estates to found 2 medical lectureships in the University based at Merton. By 18th century they had become sinecures.	Vernon, 1909: 13
1618	Unspecified	Sir William Sedley founded Professorship of Natural Philosophy with stipend of £120 p.a., the professor had the use of the room 'which now houses the Hope Collection of engraved portraits'.	Vernon, 1909: 13	I think the room was either in the Bodleian or the Clarendon building. AP
1619	Unspecified	Sir Henry Savile, Warden of Merton, founded Professorships of Astronomy and Geometry, they taught in the 2 rooms of middle storey on east side of Schools	Vernon, 1909: 13
1622	Unspecified	Lord Danby bought land opposite Magdalen College (which had been Jewish cemetery) for a 'Physick Garden', with endowment for keeper. This is now the Botanical Gardens.	Vernon, 1909: 14
1648 or 1649	Unspecified	Group of people who had been meeting to discuss Natural Philosophy in London commenced holding meetings in Wadham College, Oxford and later Boyle's lodgings and lab. near University College. This was possibly the Oxford Philosophical Society which remained in Oxford until 1690 (and later turned into Royal Society). Cited members include William Petty (Oxford doctor and Fellow of Brasenose College), Thomas Millington (believed to be discoverer of sexuality of plants) Sedleian professor of natural philosophy from 1675-1704, Dr Seth Ward Savilian professor of Astronomy, ?Christopher Wren, and Robert Boyle	Vernon, 1909: 7 et seq [citing Dr John Wallis, Savilian professor of geometry in 1649]
1656	Unspecified	Publication of Musaeum Tradescantianum, a list of the items in the Tradescant collection which formed the foundation of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford	Ovenell papers Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 printed pamphlet 2
1677	Unspecified	Presentation of Elias Ashmole's collection of curiosities to the University of Oxford on condition that a building 'should be erected for its accommodation'.	Vernon, 1909: 14-15
1682	Unspecified	Building of the Ashmolean Museum building, alongside the Clarendon Building on Broad Street to hold Ashmole's collection of curiosities	Vernon, 1909: 14-15
?1682	Unspecified	Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry, appointed first keeper of Ashmolean Museum	Vernon, 1909: 17; Oxford DNB
1683	Unspecified	Ashmolean Museum building completed, chemical laboratory set up underneath museum. Described by Anthony à Wood, quoted in Vernon, 1901: 16-17	Ashmolean Museum website; Vernon, 1909: 11, 16-17
1690	Unspecified	Edward Llwyd, Lhwyd or Lhuyd or Lloyd becomes second Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum	Vernon, 1909: 17; Oxford DNB
1700-1800	Unspecified	The Regius Professor (who was supposed to teach medicine and anatomy) had a room 'Schola Medicinae' in middle storey of south side of Schools, in 'eighteenth century it seems chiefly to have been used to accommodate a miscellaneous collection of curiosities, by no means strictly medical in character. One of these was a dresss that had belonged to Ivan the Terrible called 'Joseph's coat'.	Vernon, 1909: 12
1737	Unspecified	Radcliffe (or Physick) Library founded, funded by money left in 1714 by Dr John Radcliffe	Vernon, 1909: 21-22
1755	Unspecified	Bishop Rawlinson bequeathes endowment for Keeper of Ashmolean Museum with 'curious restrictions', the keeper could not be doctors in any faculty, or fellows of the Royal Society or Society of Antiquarians or Irish, Scottish or 'colonial' and must be unmarried.	Vernon, 1909: 19
1755	Unspecified	Matthew Lee bequeaths money to Christ Church to build School of Anatomy and endow readership of £140 p.a.	Vernon, 1909: 23
1759	Unspecified	British Museum opens
1767	Unspecified	Christ Church Anatomy School built, 'outside of south of Tom Quad'	Vernon, 1909: 23
1770	Unspecified	Opening of the Radcliffe Infirmary, funded by money left in 1714 by Dr John Radcliffe. All physicians had at first to be Doctors of Medicine of Oxford	Vernon, 1909: 22-23
1772	Unspecified	Lord Litchfield founds Professorship of Clinical Medicine	Vernon, 1909: 22-23
1772	Unspecified	Radcliffe Observatory building begins	Vernon, 1909: 22-23
1790	Unspecified	Christopher Pegge appointed Lee's Reader in Anatomy at Christ Church, and physician at Radcliffe Infirmary	Oxford DNB

Go to the 1800s

AP.

1810s

2012-07-20T13:08:20+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place between 1810 and 1819.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to the 1800s

Year	Specific date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815	23 August	Henry Wentworth Acland born	DNB entry
1816
1817
1818
1819

Go to the 1820s

AP.

1820s

2012-07-20T12:51:04+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place between 1820 and 1829.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to the 1810s

Year	Specific date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1820
1821
1822
1823	Unspecified	British Museum is extended and extensively rebuilt to house an expanding collection
1823	17 November; unspecified	John Shute Duncan appointed Keeper of Ashmolean Museum, he begins 'renovation of the Museum	Vernon, 1909: 35; Oxford DNB; renovation mentioned by Rowell in letter to Oxford Times dated circa April 1880; Ovenell papers Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 2nd printed pamphlet page 15-16
1824	Unspecified	Bodleian Gallery is used for books for first time
1825	Unspecified	John Shute Duncan employs George Rowell to arrange the natural history collections at the Ashmolean Museum	Ovenell papers, Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 page 71-2
1826	Unspecified	John Shute Duncan, Keeper of Ashmolean Museum, completes 'renovation of the Museum	Renovation mentioned by Rowell in letter to Oxford Times dated circa April 1880; Ovenell papers Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 2nd printed pamphlet page 15-16
1827	12, 14 or 15 April	Augustus Henry Lane Fox (Pitt-Rivers) is born	Oxford DNB and Rethinking Pitt-Rivers [RPR] website	Different sources give different birthdates
1828	11 December	Inaugural meeting of the Ashmolean Society is held	Ovenell, 1986: 202
1829	30 July	George Rolleston is born	DNB entry
1829	November	Philip Bury Duncan appointed Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, replacing his brother	DNB entry
1820s	Unspecified	George Rowell begins work at the Ashmolean Museum as handyman and general assistant	Macgregor, 2000: 256. See 1825 above.

Go to the 1830s

AP.

1830s

2012-07-20T07:40:11+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place between 1830 and 1839.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to the 1820s

Year	Specific Date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1830
1831
1832	2 October	Edward Burnett Tylor born	DNB entry
1832	Unspecified	British Association for the Advancement of Science [BAAS] meeting held in Oxford. Buckland was President	Vernon, 1909: 39
1832	Unspecified	Because of overcrowding at Ashmolean, Geological and Physical Apparatus Collection was moved to the Clarendon Building	Davies and Hull 1975 Zoological Collections
1833	Unspecified	Buckland and Rigaud move to Clarendon Building. Increase in space for display. Palaeontology and mineralogical collections are moved to Clarendon Buildings under supervision	?Davies and Hull 1975 Zoological Collections
1834	Unspecified	Henry Acland matriculates at Christ Church	DNB entry
1835
1836	Unspecified	First printed catalogue of Oxford collections; includes ethnographic objects in the second part. This part was probably prepared by Kirtland, assistant keeper at the Ashmolean Museum	Macgregor, 2000; Ovenell 1986: 204
1837
1838	Unspecified	Acland visits Troas 3 times	DNB entry
1838	Unspecified	Acland publishes The Plains of Troy	DNB entry
1838	May	Oxford Architectural and Historical Society formed	Ovenell papers Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 Printed pamphlet 2 page 26 account by JH Parker of the history of the society
1839	10 May	Site on Beaumont Street purchased for Taylor Institute and Art Gallery

Go to the 1840s

AP.

1840s

2012-07-18T13:12:50+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place between 1840 and 1849.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to the 1830s

Year	Specific date	Event	Source of Information	Notes
1840	Unspecified	Acland graduates with BA	DNB entry
1840	Unspecified	Acland elected to All Souls fellowship and studies medicine at St George's Hospital, London	DNB entry
1841	Unspecified	Honours School of Natural Science first suggested by Dr Ogle, Clinical Professor [1830-1851] Regius Professor, in a letter to Warden of Wadham 'On the system of examinations as pursued in Oxford, with suggestions for remodelling the Examination Statutes'.	Vernon 1909: 28
1842
1843
1844	14 November	Henry Nottidge Moseley born	DNB entry
1845	Unspecified	University Galleries opened in Beaumont Street to display University of Oxford's fine art collections	Relational Museum timeline
1845	Unspecified	Henry Acland appointed as Dr Lee's Readership in Anatomy at Christ Church, he worked in college's Anatomy Museum [Note: Vernon 1909 gives date as 1847]	Learning More on Oxford University Museum of Natural History [OUMNH] website - Museum Architecture; DNB entry
1846	Unspecified	Acland completes medical degree	DNB entry
1846	Unspecified	Rolleston wins open scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford	DNB entry
1847	Unspecified	BAAS meeting held in Oxford, Acland is secretary	DNB entry; Vernon 1909: 39
1847	Unspecified	At BAAS meeting Acland suggests 'that a new museum with lecture rooms and a library should be erected by the University for the teaching of Natural Science'. Immediatly after meeting a memorandum is circulated by Daubeny, Duncan, Acland and Walker to members of the University	Davies and Hull, 1975 Zoological Collection; Vernon 1909: 40
1847	Unspecified	Acland elected Fellow of the Royal Society	DNB entry
1848	Unspecified	Tylor begins work in family foundry	DNB entry
1848	November	Acland publishes 'Remarks on the Extension of Education in the University of Oxford' addressed to Revd William Jacobson, Regius Professor of Divinity, which proposed that all students should study science	History of Oxford University 19th century part 1: 646
1848	Unspecified	Daubeny publishes pamphlet 'Brief remarks on the correlation of the natural sciences' and contained a syllabus of scientific instruction for the general and special student, 'he laid down the principle that no student should be allowed to specialize in any one branch without showing an elementary knowledge of the primary sciences'. Walker also published a pamphlet on the same issue, 'A letter addressed to the Rev. the Vice Chancellor on Improvements in the Present Examination Statute and the Studies of the University'.	Vernon, 1909: 47; History of Oxford University 19th century part 1: 646
1849	Unspecified	Acland 'engineered a resolution to the effect that, in view of the entirely inadequate provision for the teaching of Natural Science, and the chaotic condition of the University’s scientific collections, a museum should be built to assemble “all the materials explanatory of the structure of the earth, and of the organic beings placed upon it’, together with teaching accommodation.'	[Howell, 2000: 739]
1849	1 May	Convocation meeting discusses idea of establishing new museum. Meeting held at New College. Davies and Hull write: 'Those in favour of the proposal to build a new museum met at New College in May 1849 and an action committee was formed, M.H. Nevil Story-Maskelyne becoming the Secretary of this committee formed to promote the scheme for building a University Museum...''. Vernon says that the committee was made up of Dr Williams, Dr Jacobson, Acland, Daubeny, W.F. Donkin, Savilian Professor of Astronomy, Rev. Baden Powell, Savilian Professor of Geometry, Manuel Johnson, the Radcliffe Observer, Charles Marriot, A.P. Stanley and W. Thomson. Vernon also says that 'within a short time' the committee had grown to more than 60 people including Buckland, Bishop Wilberforce, Pusey etc.	[Vernon-Harcourt 1910, 5] [Berry, 2003: 225]; Davies and Hull 1975 Zoological Collections; Vernon 1909: 49 et seq	[may be what is being referred to in entry above too?]
1849	19 June	Meeting held in Sheldonian Theatre about the proposals for a new museum	Vernon 1909: 51

Go to 1850

AP.

2013

2012-07-18T12:55:55+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place in 2013.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to 2012

Month	Day	Event	Source of Information	Notes
January	1	Start of the HLF funded VERVE project	PRM website	See here for more information
January	27	Made for Trade temporary exhibition to close	Annual Report 2010-11
February
March
April
May
June
July	19-21	A conference to discuss the future of ethnographic museums to be held at Pitt Rivers Museum and Keble College [RIME project funded by the European Union]	PRM website	See here for more information
August	31	Completion of Scoping Museum Anthropology project	See this website!
September
October
November
December

2012

2012-07-18T12:55:37+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place in 2012.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to 2011

Month	Day	Event	Source of Information	Notes
January
February	No day	DDF funds project to work on Amulet collections at PRM, 'Small Blessings'	PRM website
March
April
May
June
July
August	31	Emd of the Leverhulme Trust-funded 'Rethinking Pitt-Rivers' project	See website
September	No day	End of 'Small Blessings' project	PRM website
September	1	Start of the Fell-funded project 'Scoping Museum Anthropology'	See this website!
October
November	1	Start of the Excavating Pitt-Rivers project, Designation Development Fund of Arts Council England.	See here
December
Unspecified		Funding provided by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation for 'Reel to Real' project 2012-13 to work on the Museum's sound archives	PRM website
Unspecified		Funding is secured from DCMS / Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund towards improving lighting in the galleries	PRM website
Unspecified		A Renaissance major grant has been agreed for the Oxford consortium, including the PRM, from ACE [Arts Council England]	PRM website
Unspecified		Sound and Music has awarded Nathaniel Robin Mann a joint residency with Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM)	PRM website

Go to 2013

2011

2012-07-18T12:55:22+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place in 2011.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to 2010

Month	Day	Event	Source of Information	Notes
January	No day	Museum e-newsletter launched	Annual Report 2010-11
February
March
April	No day	Museum opens twitter account	Annual Report 2010-11
May
June	5	Temporary exhibition Wilfred Thesiger closes	Annual Report 2010-11
July	18	Temporary exhibition Made for Trade opens	Annual Report 2010-11
August
September	No day	New lighting installed in Lower Gallery which is closed while work is carried out	Annual Report 2010-11
October
November
December
Unspecified		Funding provided by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to develop a digital image bank at the Museum for 2011-12	PRM website

Go to 2012

2010

2012-07-18T12:55:08+00:00

Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place in 2010.

Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.

Go to 2009

Month	Day	Event	Source of Information	Notes
January
February
March
April
May	1	Upper Gallery reopens	PRM website; Annual Report 2009-10
June	4	Wilfred Thesiger in Africa: A Centenary Exhibition a temporary exhibition opens	Annual Report 2009-10
July	28	Repatriation of a Haida Gwaii human remain ceremony attended by University's Vice Chancellor	Annual Report 2009-10
August		HEFCE announce award of 5 years funding from 2010-11 for museum from core funding stream for university museums	PRM website
September
October
November
December
Unspecified		Introduction of new Spotlight talks by museum staff to public	Annual Report 2009-10

Go to 2011