Malcolm, Louis William Gordon
Conservator (chief curator) 1925 - 1934
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Conservator (chief curator) 1925 - 1934
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Born Ludwig William Gunter Büchner in Bourke, New South Wales in 1885, to Mechanics Institute librarian Otto L.G. Büchner and Catherine Malcolm. Early life marked by tragedy: father left when Ludwig was about 9 years old. Aged 11, a house fire burned to death 4 younger siblings left in Ludwig's care whilst his mother went to work.
Educated at Katoomba public school, Sydney Technical College and Ballarat School of Mines (1907-1909, 1911). From 1906 junior assistant at Australian Museum, Sydney. Attended University of Melbourne 1908 onwards as a Government Research Scholar under Professor R.J. Berry at the anthropological laboratory in the Anatomy School, and obtained numerous scholarships: was undertaking doctoral research in anatomy at Zurich University when war broke out.
Sent to France with the Imperial Expeditionary Force in August 1914. Obtained commission in Royal Field Artillery at Portsmouth in 1915, as L.W.G. Büchner-Malcolm. Lieutenant Büchner-Malcolm was attached to the Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force where he took part in the in Cameroon in November 1915 (see ), and undertook research into the Eghap people of central Cameroon. He remained in the Artillery until 1919. King's Messenger (diplomatic courier) at the Paris Peace Conference.
From about 1919 onwards, he used his mother's maiden name exclusively, and changed his name to Louis William Gordon Malcolm or L.W.G. Malcolm. After the war he matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge, and worked/volunteered at the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He graduated in 1921 with a Master's degree in Anthropology.
In 1921 he joined Bristol Museum and Art Gallery where he was assistant curator of archaeology and ethnology, before joining the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum as Conservator (chief curator) in 1925.
Kröller, Eva-Marie (2021) The McIlwraiths, 1853-1948. Chapter 7, T.F. McIlwraith at Cambridge
'Four children burnt to death' Burrowa News (New South Wales), Friday 10 July 1896, p.3
'Katoomba News' Nepean Times (Penrith, New South Wales), Saturday 4 July 1896, p.6
'Personal Items' Ballarat Star (Victoria), Friday 24 November 1911, p.2
'In the Public Eye' The Herald (Melbourne, Victoria), Monday 6 July 1914, p.10
'Student joins Artillery' The Herald (Melbourne, Victoria), Wednesday 3 March 1915, p.8
'Personal' Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), Tuesday 4 September 1917, p.6
Probate Office. Grant of Administration (admon) for Louis William Gordon Malcolm of 7 Monahan Avenue Purley, dated 4 December 1946
Büchner, L.W.G. (1914) 'A Study of the Curvatures of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Cranium' Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 28 April 1914
In 1932, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Cambridge on ''.
After leaving WHMM at the end of 1934, he joined the Inspectorate of the London County Council as a Liaison Officer organising the use of museum collections for teaching in London schools, and in 1937 became , a position he held until his death on 9 September 1946.
Handwriting sample: difficult to find, as Malcolm usually has documents in typescript. Some ms notes in and in museum register (in red ink, signed on opposite page).
Lacaille, A.D. Typescript copy of obituary written for the Museums Journal in
Clarke, Ian D. (2016) , 3.5
Clarke, Ian D. (2015) . Biography of L.W.G. Malcolm, Gold Museum Ballarat
Jeffreys, M.D.W. (1966) 'Witchcraft in the Calabar province' African Studies, 25:2, pp.95-100
Tuchscherer, Konrad (1999) 'The Lost Script of the Bagam' African Affairs, January 1999, vol. 98, no. 390, pp.55-77
Woerlee, Bill (2007)
Medal card for Malcolm, L W G, Australian Volunteer Hospital Regiment. The National Archives
1914 Star medal card for Malcolm, L W G. The National Archives
Büchner, L.W.G. (1913) 'Notes on certain of the Cape Barren Islanders, Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, Australia' Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 45. Jahrg., H.6, pp.932-934
Berry, J.A., Robertson, A.W.D. and Büchner, L.W.G. 'The Craniometry of the Tasmanian Aboriginal' The Journals of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, January - June 1914, vol. 44, pp. 122-126
Malcolm, L.W.G. (1920) 'Notes on the Cameroon province (with special-reference to the Bamenda division)', Scottish Geographical Magazine, 36:3, pp.145-153