Makers and Shapers Profile
Details
Name
Baron Anatole von Hügel
Type
Commissioned Contributor
Dates of Existence
1854 - 1928
History
[Source - Chloe Rushovich for FHYA, 2017, using MAA website: Baron Anatole von Hügel was on mixed Austrian aristocratic and Scottish descent, and grew up between Italy, Belgium, and England. His father had a wide-ranging interest in ethnography, zoology, and botany. Von Hügel studied at Stonyhurst, a Catholic College in Lancashire, from 1871-73, but was advised to undertake a long sea voyage for his health, and decided to visit Australia. During his time in Australia, von Hügel mixed in scientific circles, and ended up conducting scientific research in Fiji. He returned to England in 1877, where he made contacts in Cambridge. In 1884 he was appointed the first Curator of what was then called the Museum of General and Local Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, a position he would hold for the next thirty-eight years. During his time as Curator, he donated his own materials from his time in Fiji, he raised money to construct the new premises of the museum at Downing Street, and oversaw the move to this location. He also corresponded with collectors, travellers, and researchers from around the world, and steadily built up the collections at the Museum. He died in 1928.]