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Scottish historian 1800–1887 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Caroline Hamilton Gray (née Johnstone; 3 April 1800 – 21 February 1887) was a Scottish historian and travel author, born in Alva, Clackmannanshire,[1] as the eldest daughter of James Raymond Johnstone and Mary Elizabeth Cholmeley.[2] She was the granddaughter of the colonial businessman John Johnstone.[3][4]
After marrying John Hamilton Gray, a priest and genealogist, in June 1829, Gray moved to Bolsover Castle in England, where she lived until shortly before her death.[3][5]
Gray became interested in the history of the Etruscans after visiting an exhibition of their artefacts in London organised by Domenico Campanari in 1837.[6] She pursued the subject on a visit to Italy in 1837–1839, drawing on contacts in German and Italian archaeological circles. In 1840 she published Tour to the Sepulchres of Etruria, which served as a travelogue and an account of her archaeological research. She then wrote a general History of Etruria: the first two volumes in 1843–1844 and the third in 1868.[3]
As a woman, Hamilton Gray faced criticism for engaging in historical research. In an 1844 review of her work, Samuel Ferguson[7] remarked that "any deep or earnest investigation of matters connected with the social institution of a gentile nation is not properly within the female province." [8] This review was sometimes mistakenly attributed to the explorer George Dennis, who also wrote about the Etruscans.[9]
Other than her research on Etruria, Gray wrote a work on the classical and early medieval church and empire, and two popular children's histories of Rome.[3] She and her husband maintained a collection of antiquities acquired both from dealers in Italy and from her own excavations. It included an unusual red-and-black Etruscan amphora in an Italo-Geometric style, known as the "Hamilton Gray vase".[10]
Elizabeth Caroline Gray died in London on 21 February 1887.[11]
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