Alexander Henry Rhind

Alexander Henry Rhind ( born July 26, 1833 in Wick / Scotland; † July 3, 1863 in Cadenabbia ) was a Scottish lawyer and Egyptologist who discovered the Papyrus Rhind.

Life

Rhind came from a wealthy family in Scottish Wick and studied at the University of Edinburgh natural history, law and philosophy. For health reasons, he undertook from 1855 to 1857 a trip to Egypt, where he undertook excavations at Thebes in the Valley of the Kings. In 1858 he bought in an illegal bookseller in Luxor, the so-called arithmetic book of Ahmes, which was named after him and the Rhind papyrus contains an approximate calculation of the mathematical constant π, and the leather roll ( " Mathematical Leather Roll" ). Both papyri were shipped in 1864 to the British Museum in London, where they are kept ever since. It is believed that both finds originate from the Ramesseum. Together with the Moscow papyrus, they are still the most important documents for Mathematics in Ancient Egypt.

1863 Rhind took a trip on the Nile and arrived from Cairo to the Second Cataract at Wadi Halfa. During the trip, his health deteriorated and he retired to Lake Como, where he died on July 3, 1863 in La Maiolica in Cadenabbia in his sleep.

He left the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland his library with about 1600 books and funds to build a foundation by which to date archaeological conferences are organized under the name Rhind lectures in Edinburgh.

Publications

• British archeology, its progress and Demand (1858 ).
• Law of treasure - trove: how can it be best angepasst to accomplish useful results? (1858 ).
• Thebes: its tombs and Their tenants, ancient and present (1862 ).
• An attempt to define how far the cymric encroached upon the Gaelic Branch of the early Celtic population of North Britain ( 1851-1854 ).
• British Primeval Antiquities ( 1854-1857 ).
• Egypt; its Climate, Character and Resources as a winter resort (1856 ).
• The Law of Treasure Trove -: How it can be best angepasst to accomplish useful results ( 1857-1859 ).
• On the Use of Bronze and Iron in Ancient Egypt, with reference to general Archaeology ( 1857-1859 ).