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Died 26 April 1941, Tarragona, Spain | ||
Eduardo Toda y Güell (Reus, 9 January 1852 - Reus, 26 April 1941) was a Spanish diplomat, historian, Egypytologist and numismatist.
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Career
After studying law at the Central University of Madrid, Eduardo was appointed Vice-Consul in Macao, Hong Kong, Canton, and Shanghai.
He was subsequently Consul General in Cairo, Egypt (1884-1886) and became friends with Gaston Maspero. During his post, he became very interested in ancient Egypt and while at Deir el-Medina, he discovered and opened the intact tomb of Sennedyem.
After being posted to Helsinki and Le Havre, he decided to abandon his diplomatic career and move to London. He didn't return to Spain until 1918 where he created the collection Estudios Egiptológicos and later tried to establish a school of Egyptology. After being unsuccessful in his attempts, he moved to the Château-monastere d'Escornalbou where he devoted himself to the history of the Poblet Abbey.
He became Professor at the School of Librarians of the Provincial Diputación of Barcelona, Corresponding Member of the Catalan Studies Institute and Member of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona. He presented his personal library to several Catalan institutions where he gave his Numismatic collection to the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid, his Egyptian collection to the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, and the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer in of Vilanova i la Geltru.