Robert W. Thomson

Robert William Thomson
Born(1934-03-24)24 March 1934
London, United Kingdom
DiedNovember 20, 2018(2018-11-20) (aged 84)
Oxford, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)professor, scholar of Armenian studies

Robert William Thomson (24 March 1934, Cheam, London UK – 20 November 2018, Oxford) was Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at Oxford University.[1]

Thomson graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in classics, then studied at the Halki seminary in Turkey.[2] Thomson received his PhD from Cambridge after defending his doctoral dissertation on Armenian and Syriac versions of Athanasius of Alexandria's works.[2]

When an Armenian Studies Professorship was established in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Harvard University in 1969, Thomson was appointed to the chair which was subsequently named in honor of Armenian saint and scholar Mesrob Mashtots. Thomson held this position until 1992, when he accepted the Gulbenkian Chair in Armenian Studies at Oxford University in England.[3] He retired in 2001.[2] In 1984–1989 he was the Director of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.[4] In 1995, he was elected a fellow of the British Academy. Among other distinctions, he received the Saint Sahak and Saint Mesrop Medal from Vazgen I, Catholicos of All Armenians for his contributions to Armenian studies.[2]

Thomson translated into English several Classical Armenian, Syriac and Greek texts as well as having written two textbooks on the Armenian language, one of which is the sole English-language textbook on Classical Armenian.[5][2]

Thomson died in 2018.[2]

  1. ^ Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Professor Robert W. Thomson.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Obituary by Theo van Lint
  3. ^ National Association for Armenian Studies and Research. History.
  4. ^ "Oral History Project: Robert W. Thomson", Dumbarton Oaks Archives.
  5. ^ Angeliki E. Laiou, Henry Maguire. Byzantium, a World Civilization. Dumbarton Oaks, 1992. ISBN 0-88402-215-3, ISBN 978-0-88402-215-2, p. 9