C. H. W. (Claude Hermann Walter) Johns

Born in 1857, Claude Hermann Walter Johns was a British Assyriologist and scholar of the ancient Near East. He studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, later became a fellow of St Catharine's College, and built his reputation through close work with cuneiform texts from Babylonia and Assyria.

Johns wrote widely for both specialists and general readers. His best-known books include works on Assyrian and Babylonian laws, letters, and civilization, and he is especially remembered for helping English-language readers understand the Code of Hammurabi and other key records from Mesopotamia.

He died in 1920, but his work remained valuable because it combined careful scholarship with a gift for explanation. For readers interested in the ancient world, his writing still offers a clear window into how early societies organized law, religion, and everyday life.