Samson, Otto William

Otto William Samson (b.1900-d.1976)

scientific staff, south Asian collections. active: 1938-

Anthropologist of east Asia, whose early career in Germany was interrupted fleeing persecution as a Jewish émigré. Worked at WHMM soon afterwards. In later career became curator and Director of Horniman Museum, London

work at WHMM: worked on Indian materials, following departure of Mr Chatterjee in 1938.

biographical note: Educated at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, and later in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg. Joined the staff at the Hamburg Ethnographical Museum in 1928. Worked on East Asian materials, and went on expedition to China 1931, collecting materials for the museum. Dismissed from his position in October 1933 amid mounting anti-Jewish hatred in the city. Emigrated to London, getting a job through his contacts in University College's Galton Laboratory ‘working under G. M. Morant on the collection of human remains excavated between 1911 and 1914 at Jebel Moya in the Southern Sudan’, reported by D. Swallow to be an ‘immensely difficult and unrewarding task’. (see Swallow 1989, 8). Gained an exploration fellowship from UNiv Edinburgh to study material culture of villages in Punjab and connections to Chinese cultural exchange, including collecting artefacts for Univ Cambridge Antrhopology dept, and material which eventually ended up at Horniman. Backed by references of among others, Braunholz of British Museum (husband of WHMM Joan Braunholz?.) Over 2 years, he also explored western India. Worked again at Galton laboratory, but soon started working voluntarily in the Oriental Antiquities and Ethnography Museum of BM. Worked there, partly casually paid and partly voluntarily, gaining full time position in 1942 as a technical assistant. Swallow biography does not mention employment in WHMM, though according to Symons 1987 he joined WHMM in November 1938 (p38). 1939, BM employed him as Assistant Keeper (second class) as regular keepers still away on war service. Samson became Curator of the Horniman Museum in 1947.

sources: Archer, W. G. "Dr. Otto William Samson." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1 (1976): 93-94. Accessed April 6, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/25203700. Biographical lecture, with detail of Samsons collecting expeditions in South East Asia. Swallow, D. (1989). Oriental art and the popular fancy: Otto Samson, ethnographer, collector and museum director. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 121(1), 5-31. doi:10.1017/S0035869X0016784X

Horniman Museum info on Samson: https://www.horniman.ac.uk/agent/agent-2528/

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[[scientific staff]] [[east Asia]] [[museum staff]] [[south Asia]]