Spouse(s) Adele von Heidenstern Role 5th Baron Abercromby Name John 5th | Mother Louisa Penuel Forbes Died October 7, 1924 | |
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Father George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby Parents George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby Books A Study of the Bronze Age Pottery of Great Britain & Ireland and Its Associated Grave-goods | ||
Occupation Soldier, archaeologist | ||
John Abercromby, 5th Baron Abercromby (15 January 1841 – 7 October 1924) was a Scottish soldier and archaeologist.
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Career
Abercromby was the son of George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby, and Louisa Penuel Forbes, and had two brothers and a sister. He was a Lieutenant with the Rifle Brigade. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD). On 3 October 1917, following the death of his elder brother George, he succeeded as the fifth Lord Abercromby.
After leaving the army in 1870 he devoted himself to languages, travel, and folklore. In 1904 he introduced the term Beaker into the archaeological lexicon to describe the late neolithic drinking vessels being found all over western Europe. He supported the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and served as its president from 1913 to 1918. His will provided for the foundation of the Abercromby Chair of Archaeology at Edinburgh University, a post occupied by Vere Gordon Childe and Stuart Piggott.
He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh at its east side, close to the main entrance.
Family
Abercromby married his Swedish cousin, Adele Wilhelmina Marika von Heidenstern, on 26 August 1876. They had one daughter, Edla Louisa Montague Abercromby (b. 1877), who married Georges N. Nasos in 1906. As he had no son, the Barony of Abercromby became extinct on his death.