author
W. S. W. (William Sandys Wright) Vaux
1818–1885
Best known as a Victorian expert on ancient coins and the ancient Near East, this British Museum scholar helped bring Assyria, Persia, and classical antiquity closer to general readers. His work blends museum knowledge with the wide curiosity of a 19th-century antiquary.
1 Audiobook
Ancient history from the monuments: Greek cities & islands of Asia Minor
by W. S. W. (William Sandys Wright) Vaux
About the author
Born in Oxford in 1818, he was educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford, then joined the British Museum in 1841. Over the course of his museum career he became a respected antiquary and numismatist, eventually serving as Keeper of Coins and Medals before retiring in 1870.
He wrote on a wide range of historical subjects, especially ancient coins, Assyria, Persia, and classical geography. Among the works associated with him are studies of Nineveh and Persepolis as well as cataloguing work on coin collections, which helped make specialist knowledge more accessible to scholars and general readers alike.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and remained closely connected with learned societies and the wider world of Victorian scholarship. He died in 1885, leaving a reputation as a careful museum scholar with a gift for explaining the ancient world clearly.