John Atkinson

(b London, 1775; d ?London, ?1831-3). English painter and printmaker. At the age of nine he was taken to live in St Petersburg by his uncle, James Walker, who was an engraver in the service of Catherine II, Empress of Russia. Atkinson subsequently gained the patronage of the Empress and her son, Paul I (reg 1796-1801), executing a series of paintings on Russian history (e.g. Victory of the Cossacks of the Don over the Tartars) for them. He returned to England in 1801 and by 1808 was exhibiting as an Associate at the Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours, showing such literary and patriotic pictures as Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages'. A series of his soft-ground etchings, The Miseries of Human Life, by One of the Wretched (London, BM), was published in London in 1807. He also produced sets of engravings of military costumes, such as A Picturesque Representation of the Naval, Military and Miscellaneous Costumes of Great Britain (London, 1812) and painted numerous watercolours (e.g. HRH The Prince Regent, the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia Attended by Marshal Bl?cher at the Review in Hyde Park, 20 June 1814, c. 1814; London, N. Army Mus.). In 1815 Josiah Boydell (1752-1817) sent him to the site of the Battle of Waterloo to collaborate with Arthur William Devis on a painting of the event (watercolour study, London, BM). In 1819 the painting was engraved by John Burnet. Atkinson aspired towards recognition as a painter of historical subjects and competed unsuccessfully in a competition sponsored by the British Institution for a military painting to hang in the Royal Military Hospital in Chelsea, London.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

---

(1920–94) [Bi]

British archaeologist and academic, well known for his excavations in Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Born in Dorset and educated at Sherborne School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read PPE. As a Quaker he was a non-combatant during WW2, employed instead on ditch-digging and hospital duties. In 1944 he returned to Oxford as Assistant Keeper of Archaeology in the Ashmolean Museum. Almost immediately he began excavating at Dorchester-on-Thames, later with help from Stuart Piggott. In 1949 he was appointed to a lectureship in archaeology at Edinburgh University, and in 1958 became the first Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff where he remained until his retirement in 1983. Throughout these years he was active in the field, excavating at Stonehenge in 1953–6, the West Kennet long barrow with Piggott in 1955–6, and at Wayland's Smithy in 1962–3. In 1968–9 he undertook an examination of Silbury Hill under the watchful eye of the BBC television cameras. University administration was a call on his time later in life: between 1966 and 1970 he was Dean of Arts at Cardiff and between 1970 and 1974 he was Vice-Principal of the University. This stood him in good stead for being a member of the University Grants Committee between 1973 and 1982. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1946 and appointed a CBE in 1979. At the time of his death many of his excavations remained unpublished, but this has since been rectified through the diligent work of his successors at Cardiff.

[Obit.: British Archaeological News, NS 18 (November 1994), 11]

Quotes:

"If you don't run your own life, somebody else will."

• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '60s-'90s
• Major Genres: Drama, Action

Biography

John Atkinson was a British character actor who usually played men in uniform. During WW II, he actually served in the RAF. Atkinson worked on stage, screen, and television. He also worked as a stage manager. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

To Be the Best Buy this Movie

Demons of the Mind Buy this Movie