Metadata: Papers of Sir Aurel Stein
Collection
- Country:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Holding institution:
- Royal Asiatic Society
- Holding institution (official language):
- Royal Asiatic Society
- Postal address:
- 14 Stephenson WayLondonGreater LondonUnited KingdomNW1 2HD
- Phone number:
- Telephone: 020 7391 9427
- Web address:
- https://royalasiaticsociety.org/library-collections/
- Reference number:
- AS
- Title:
- Papers of Sir Aurel Stein
- Title (official language):
- Papers of Sir Aurel Stein
- Creator/accumulator:
- Stein, Marc Aurel, 1862-1943, Knight, Scholar, Explorer, Archaeologist
- Date(s):
- 1910/1939
- Language:
- English
- German
- Latin
- Extent:
- 1 box
- Scope and content:
- This small collection consists of seven certificates of membership of organisations or Honorary conferment of degrees. Thus:Certificate of Honorary Membership of Die Geographische Gesellschaft in Munchen, 1909Confirmation of Degree of Doctor of Science, Cambridge, 1910Certificate of Honorary Membership of Royal Scottish Geographical Society, 1910Certificate of Membership of Anthropologische Gesellschaft, 1911Certificate for Doctor of Philosophy from University of Tubingen, 1933Certificate on becoming Honorary Doctor of Law of St. Andrews University, 1939Certificate of Membership of American Philosophical Society, 1939
- Archival history:
- This catalogue was produced by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in June 2017.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Marc Aurel Stein was born in Budapest in 1862. His family were merchant members of the Jewish bourgeoisie and advocates of assimilation: he was baptized into the Lutheran church and educated at Catholic and Lutheran schools in Budapest and, later, Dresden. He first studied Sanskrit with Roth and Geldner in Tübingen and subsequently came to London in 1883 to continue his study of oriental languages. He went as Registrar to Lahore University in 1887 and became Principal of the Oriental College in 1888. He was interested in Central Asia both in its geography, archaeology and strategic position. Stein is renowned for his archaeological exploration in Eastern Central Asia (1900-01, 1906-08, 1913-16, 1930-31), India, Iran, Iraq and Jordan, and for his pioneering work on the early civilizations of the Silk Road. He is especially famous for the discovery of the hidden library of documents and Buddhist paintings at the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas (Qianfodong) at Dunhuang, Gansu province, China.He became a British national in 1904. Stein received a number of honours throughout his career. This Collection reveals some of them. He was conferred with the Gold Medal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1943. Stein wrote extensively about his travels and within the RAS Collections are original photographs from which the plates were taken for his many publications. Stein died in Kabul on 26 October 1943 and is buried in Kabul's British Cemetery.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Stein, Aurel
- Access, restrictions:
- Open. Please contact the archivist. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.
- Finding aids:
- Online catalogue.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://royalasiaticsociety.org/archives/
- Yerusha Network member:
- AIM25