Edward Maunde Thompson

Sir Edward Maunde Thompson (4 May 1840 – 14 September 1929) was a British palaeographer and Principal Librarian and first director of the British Museum.

He is noted for his handbook of Greek and Latin palaeography and for his study of William Shakespeare's handwriting in the manuscript of the play Sir Thomas More.

Biography

Thompson was born in Jamaica, where his father, Edward Thompson, was Custos of Clarendon Parish. His mother was Eliza Hayhurst Poole, also of Clarendon. He was educated at Rugby and matriculated at University College, Oxford in 1859. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1867.

Thompson was made Keeper of the Manuscripts at the British Museum in 1878. He set high standards for the staff of the museum, and worked hard to improve the accessibility of the collections to the public. He secured premises at Hendon to house the museum's newspaper collection.

The photographic facsimile of Codex Alexandrinus was issued under his supervision in 1879 and 1880. He was a founding member of the British Academy in 1901, and served as its second President (1907–09).

He retired from the British Museum in August 1909 due to ill health.