British scientist
Edward Thomas Hall , CBE , Hon. FBA , FSA (10 May 1924 – 11 August 2001), also known as Teddy Hall , was a British scientist and balloonist who is best remembered for exposing the Piltdown Man as a fraud.
Early life and education
Hall was born on 10 May 1924 in London , England, to Walter D'Arcy Hall and Anne Madeleine Hall.[1] [2] He was brought up at Shipton Court, a Jacobean manor house in Shipton-under-Wychwood , Oxfordshire.[2] He was educated at Eton College , an all-boys public school in Berkshire. In 1943, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) as an ordinary seaman, serving in landing craft transporting commandos to France.[3]
After the end of the Second World War , he entered New College, Oxford to study chemistry, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1948.[3] [1] His Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree was undertaken at the Clarendon Laboratory (part of the Department of Physics ) under the supervision of Lord Cherwell , and his degree was completed in 1953.[4] [2] His thesis was on the "development of an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer for the non-destructive analysis of archaeological material".[4]
Career
In 1954, Hall became director of the newly founded Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA) at the University of Oxford . In 1969, he was elected a fellow of Worcester College, Oxford . He was made Professor of Archaeological Sciences in 1975. On retirement from RLAHA in 1989, he was made emeritus professor .[1]
Hall was a member of the council of the International Institute for Conservation from 1971 to 199, and served as its president from 1989 to 1992.[1] He was a trustee of the British Museum (1973–1995), National Gallery (1977–1984) and The Science Museum (1984–1992).[3] [1] He was als0 Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths Company .[3]
Other activities
Hall was also a hot-air-balloon pilot and owner of Cameron O-84 Flaming Pearl G-AYAJ 1970–1990. He was a member of the Air Squadron .[3]
In 1962, Hall co-developed, with his friend Robin Cavendish , a wheelchair with a built-in respirator that allowed Cavendish, who was paralyzed from the neck down from polio and required a medical respirator to breathe, to leave the confinement of his bed. This chair became the model for future devices of its type,[5] with Cavendish eventually using a total of 10 different chairs.[6] This part of Hall's life is shown in the 2017 film Breathe .
Achievements
He was influential in exposing the Piltdown Man fraud which led to his founding the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art , Oxford University .[6]
He founded Littlemore Scientific Engineering Company (ELSEC).
He helped to date the Shroud of Turin to the period 1260–1390.[7]
He built the Littlemore Clock in the 1990s, which is the most accurate pendulum clock ever built.[8]
Coat of arms of Edward Thomas Hall
Notes
Displayed at Goldsmiths' Hall [9]
Personal life
He married South African model Jennifer De La Harpe and had two sons Bill and Martin.[3]
Honours
In 1951, Hall was elected a Fellow of the Physical Society (FPhysS), a learned society for the physical sciences.[1] In 1984, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (Hon FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.[10]
References
^ a b c d e f "Hall, Prof. Edward Thomas, (10 May 1924–11 Aug. 2001), Professor, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University, 1975–89, then Emeritus Professor of Archaeological Sciences (Director 1954–89); Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, 1969–89, then Emeritus" . Who Was Who . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2023 .
^ a b c Hedges, Robert; Tite, Michael (15 August 2001). "Professor Edward Hall" . The Independent . Retrieved 15 May 2023 .
^ a b c d e f Pollard, A. Mark (2014), "Hall, Edward T" , in Smith, Claire (ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology , New York, NY: Springer, pp. 3189–3191, doi :10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_347 , ISBN 978-1-4419-0465-2 , retrieved 4 January 2022
^ a b "Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art" . School of Archaeology . University of Oxford. Retrieved 15 May 2023 .
^ Renton, Alice; Renton, Tim (10 August 1994). "Obituary: Robin Cavendish" . The Independent .
^ a b Oaksey, John (17 August 2001). "Obituaries: Professor E T 'Teddy' Hall" . The Daily Telegraph .
^ Damon, P. E.; Donahue, D. J.; Gore, B. H.; Hatheway, A. L.; Jull, A. J. T.; Linick, T. W.; Sercel, P. J.; Toolin, L. J.; Bronk, C. R.; Hall, E. T.; Hedges, R. E. M.; Housley, R.; Law, I. A.; Perry, C.; Bonani, G.; Trumbore, S. ; Woelfli, W.; Ambers, J. C.; Bowman, S. G. E.; Leese, M. N.; Tite, M. S. (16 February 1989). "Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin" (PDF) . Nature . 337 (6208): 611–615. Bibcode :1989Natur.337..611D . doi :10.1038/337611a0 . S2CID 27686437 .
^ Hall, E.T. (June 1996). "The Littlemore Clock" . Horological Science .
^ "Goldsmiths Hall, 75 Hall ET" . Baz Manning. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2020 .
^ "Professor Edward Hall FBA" . The British Academy . Retrieved 15 May 2023 .
Obituaries
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