John Forsdyke
Sir Edgar John Forsdyke KCB was Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum from 1936 to 1950. He was director of the British Museum during the controversial 1937-38 "cleaning" of the Parthenon Marbles, which caused irreparable damage to the sculptures.
Forsdyke was educated at Christ's Hospital and then at Keble College, Oxford, where he was a scholar. He joined the British Museum in 1907, before serving in the Royal Field Artillery as a captain between 1914-19, in the First World War. He edited the Journal of Hellenic Studies from 1912 to 1923.
After serving as Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum from 1932 to 1936, he was appointed Director and Principal Librarian in 1936, retiring in 1950. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1937, and was an Honorary Fellow of Keble College. He died on 3 December 1979.
