Harry Smith

Henry Sidney Smith, (14 June 1928 – 8 September 2024) was a British Egyptologist and academic, specialising in epigraphy and Egyptian archaeology. He held the Edwards Chair of Egyptology at University College London from 1970 to 1986. He had previously been a lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, where he was also Budge Fellow in Egyptology at Christ's College, Cambridge.

Early life and education Smith was born on 14 June 1928 to Sidney Smith, FBA, an Assyriologist and curator, and his wife Mary (nee Parker), an artist. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, an all-boys private school. Having won an Open Scholarship, he matriculated into Christ's College, Cambridge, in September 1949 to study classics. as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree. He continued to assist at excavations in Egypt and Nubia, working at the Buhen fortress and Qasr Ibrim from 1959. From 1959 to 1960, he was on leave from his university positions to undertake fieldwork: he gained his first archaeological excavation experience at Beycesultan, Turkey, under Seton Lloyd, before excavating at Buhen in Sudanese Nubia under W. B. Emery and at Nimrud in Iraq under David Oates.

Smith died on 8 September 2024, at the age of 96.

Honours In 1985, Smith was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected works