author
Oric Bates
1883–1918
Drawn to North Africa and the ancient world, this early American archaeologist built a reputation through fieldwork, museum work, and writing before his life was cut short at just 34. His best-known studies helped shape early scholarship on Libya and neighboring regions.
1 Audiobook
A Madcap Cruise
by Oric Bates
About the author
Born in Boston on December 5, 1883, Oric Bates was an American archaeologist and author who worked across several major institutions. Sources describe him as serving with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, including its Egyptian Department, and later with Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, where he worked in African ethnology.
He is especially remembered for research on North Africa, including The Eastern Libyans, and for writing that combined travel, archaeology, and regional study. Archival and reference sources also connect him with expeditions in Egypt and Libya, showing how much of his reputation came from firsthand field experience.
Bates died in October 1918, during World War I service, at Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentucky. Although his career was brief, his name remains closely linked with early 20th-century study of Libya, Egypt, and African archaeology.