Grafton Elliot Smith

Grafton Elliot Smith

Prof. Grafton Elliot Smith FRS
Born	1871
Died	1937
Residence	Professor of Anatomy, The University, Manchester [1909] University College London; Prof. of Anatomy, Manchester University and later of University College London [A63] 24 Gordon Mansions, WC1 [1927] 62 Albert Road, Regents Park, NW8 [1933]
Occupation	academic anatomist
Society Membership membership ordinary fellow left 1937 deceased elected_AI 1910.02.11 1926.11.23 societies Royal Society Anthropological Society of Paris Anthropological Society of Rome Anthropological Society of Munich

Notes

Office Notes

RAI Council 1911 Member
RAI Council 1912-13 Member
RAI Council 1913 Member
RAI Council 1914 Vice President
RAI Council 1922 Member
RAI Council 1929 Vice President
RAI Council 1930-31 Vice President
RAI Council 1932-33 Member
RAI Council 1933-34 Member

House Notes

1910.01.18 proposed by A. Keith, seconded by T.A. Joyce
1916.11.14 Prof. Elliot Smith’s resignation was next considered and it was resolved that the matter be left with the President to arrange
1926.10.26 nominated ; proposed by H.J.E. Peake, seconded by A. Keith
1935 HML The place of Thomas Henry Huxley in anthropology Delivered 26th Nov. at Royal Society

Notes From Elsewhere

Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, FRS[1] FRCP (15 August 1871 – 1 January 1937) was an Australian-British anatomist, Egyptologist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory. He believed in the idea that cultural innovations occur only once and that they spread geographically. Based on this, he traced the origins of many cultural and traditional practices across the world, including the New World, to ideas that he believed came from Egypt and in some instances from Asia. An expert on brain anatomy, he was the first to study Egyptian mummies using radiological techniques. He took an interest in extinct humanoids and was embroiled in controversy over the authenticity of the Piltdown Man.
.....
His father had migrated to New South Wales from London. He had attended a workingman's college under John Ruskin and later became teacher and headmaster in Grafton, New South Wales. His older brother (Stephen H. Smith) was Director of Education in New South Wales; his younger brother (Stewart Arthur Smith) was Acting Professor of Anatomy at the University of Sydney.[14]
He married Kathleen Macredie in 1902 just before moving to Cairo. During his time in London, he lived in Hampstead, Gower Street, and at Regent's Park. During his London years, he became a friend of Dr. W. H. R. Rivers.
Smith's youngest son, Stephen Smith, died in an accident in 1936. Smith spent his final year in a nursing home in London, where he died.

Publications

External Publications

The Natural Subdivision of the Cerebral Hemisphere (1901). The Primary Subdivisions of the Mammalian Cerebellum (1902). The Ancient Egyptians and the origin of Civilization (London/New York, Harper & Brother 1911). Catalogue of the Royal Mummies in the Museum of Cairo (Cairo 1912). The Migrations of Early Culture (1915) On the Significance of the geographical distribution of Mummification – a study of the migrations of peoples and the spread of certain customs and beliefs (1916). The Evolution of the Dragon (1919) (with T.H. Pear) Shell shock and its lessons (1917, 2nd edition) Tutankhamen and the Discovery of his Tomb (1923) Evolution of Man: Essays (1924, 2nd edition 1927) Human History (1930) The Diffusion of Culture (London, Watts 1933) Elephants and Ethnologists (1924) Serle, Percival (1949). "Smith, Grafton Elliot". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. A. P. Elkin/N. W. G. Macintosh, Grafton Elliot Smith, The Man and his Work (Sydney University Press 1974) W. R. Dawson, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith: a Biographical Record by his Colleagues (London, Cape 1938)

Related Material Details

RAI Material

Abbey collection