William F. Albright: The Father of Biblical Archaeology

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ we meet a brilliant missionary’s son who becomes one of the most important scholars on Near East studies.
William F. Albright: The Father of Biblical Archaeology
W.F. Albright, at a ceremony of conferment of honorary doctorates, by Hebrew University. He was the first scholar to authenticate the Dead Sea Scrolls. Public Domain
Dustin Bass
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William Foxwell Albright (1891–1971) was born to financially modest American Methodist missionaries in Coquimbo, Chile. His life as a child was anything but easy for various reasons. He grew up under tight budgetary constraints, in a country not his own, combined with poor eyesight and a crippled left hand due to a farming accident. These issues often made him the brunt of jokes among the local schoolchildren. Albright, however, was a voracious reader and inquisitive thinker, and his affinity for ancient history led him to become known as the father of Biblical archaeology.

As a constant reader and growing up in a minister’s home, he was thoroughly acquainted with the Old Testament. These ancient stories inspired him to study the history of the ancient Near East. When he was 10, his parents bought him R.W. Rogers’s “History of Babylonia and Assyria,” which left a lasting impact.

Becoming a Scholar

Dustin Bass
Dustin Bass
Author
Dustin Bass is the creator and host of the American Tales podcast, and co-founder of The Sons of History. He writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History. He is also an author.