Edward Thomas Hall
| Edward Thomas Hall | |
|---|---|
 In the Balloon | |
| Born |
10 May 1924 London, England |
| Died |
11 August 2001 (aged 77) Oxford |
| Residence | Oxford |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Archaeological science |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford (Chemistry) |
| Notable awards |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellow of the British Academy |
| Spouse | Jennifer De La Harpe |
| Children |
Bill Hall Martin Hall |
Edward Thomas Hall CBE, Hon. FBA, FSA, D.Phil (also known as Teddy Hall; 10 May 1924 – 11 August 2001) was a British scientist.
Life
Born in London, the son of Walter D'Arcy Hall and Anne Madeleine Hall, he was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford, where he received his DPhil in 1953. In 1943, he joined the RNVR as an ordinary seaman, serving in landing craft transporting commandos to France.
Hall was also a hot-air-balloon pilot and owner of Cameron O-84 Flaming Pearl G-AYAJ 1970-1990.[1] He was a member of the Air Squadron.
In the 1970s and 80s he owned a Bertram 31 motor boat Blue Bonito based in Greece and Turkey. This was used for testing his company's marine magnetometers, helping various marine archaeological expeditions and finding the sunken WWI battleships Bouvet, Irresistible and Ocean.
He married South African model Jennifer De La Harpe and had two sons Bill and Martin.
At various times in his life he was a trustee of the National Gallery, the British Museum, the Science Museum and Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths Company.
Achievements
- Developed the dating technique that was used to expose the Piltdown Man fraud.
- Founder of Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University.
- Founder of Littlemore Scientific Engineering Company (ELSEC), Oxford.
- Helped to date the Turin Shroud as a medieval fake. The date disputed by some; see the article on the shroud.
- Built the Littlemore Clock, possibly the most accurate pendulum clock ever.[2]
Hall was an Ad hominem Professor at Worcester College, Oxford.
References
Links
- Guardian obituary 20 August 2001.Professor ET 'Teddy' Hall:Scientist who exposed the Piltdown Man fraud and dated the Turin Shroud as a medieval fake
- Telegraph Obituary
- New York Times obituary
- Some adventures with a young Hall in a blog by Nigel Buxton