British Museum
On the 7th of June 1753, King George II gave his royal assent to an act of Parliament that established a new institution. This body would become known as the British Museum. Its origins lay in the will of Sir Hans Sloane, an Anglo-Irish physician and naturalist who died in 1753. Sloane had gathered over 71,000 objects during his lifetime. These items included 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, and extensive natural history specimens. He bequeathed this massive collection to the nation for £20,000. The estimated value of these artifacts was far higher, ranging from £50,000 to £80,000 at the time. Parliament accepted the offer because it was cheaper than buying the collection separately. The museum opened its doors to the public on the 15th of January 1759. It operated within Montagu House, a converted 17th-century mansion purchased by the trustees for £20,000. The ground floor housed the library while the first floor held natural history objects. In 1763, Daniel Solander reclassified the natural history collection using the Linnaean system. This made the museum a center of learning accessible to European natural historians.
By 1823, the trustees decided that Montagu House could no longer accommodate the growing collections. Sir Robert Smirke drew up plans for an eastern extension to house the King's Library. Work began in 1823 and the East Wing was completed by 1831. The old building was demolished in 1842 to make room for the final part of the West Wing. Construction finished in 1846. A new South Wing with a great colonnade followed between 1843 and 1847. Sydney Smirke designed the Round Reading Room which opened in 1857. This dome measured 70 feet in diameter and was then the second widest in the world. The museum expanded further when Parliament approved a loan of £200,000 in 1895. Trustees purchased 69 houses surrounding the site to build new galleries on three sides. Only the Edward VII galleries were constructed between 1906 and 1914 due to lack of funds. The Duveen Gallery designed by John Russell Pope opened in 1938 but suffered bomb damage during World War II. It remained semi-derelict for 22 years before reopening in 1962. In 2000, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court opened as the largest covered square in Europe. Its roof features 1,656 uniquely shaped panes of glass.
In 1840, Charles Fellows led an expedition to Xanthos in Asia Minor. He brought back remains of ancient tombs including the Nereid and Payava monuments. By 1857, Charles Newton discovered the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A.H. Layard conducted excavations in Assyria between 1845 and 1851. He uncovered palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh containing seventy-one halls. His assistant Hormuzd Rassam later found the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal with around 130,000 cuneiform tablets. Leonard Woolley excavated Ur between 1922 and 1934. He discovered the Standard of Ur and two bull-headed lyres. John Turtle Wood found the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in 1869. Augustus Wollaston Franks began collecting British medieval antiquities in 1851. The museum acquired the Duke of Blacas's collection in 1867 over French objections. In 1897, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bequeathed the Waddesdon Bequest containing almost 300 pieces of art. Professor Fred Wendorf donated six million objects from his Sahara Desert excavations in autumn 2001.
As tensions rose with Nazi Germany, Director John Forsdyke ordered preparations to remove valuable items. On the 24th of August 1939, just one day after government advice, the museum began relocating selected items. They moved artifacts to secure basements, country houses, Aldwych tube station, and the National Library of Wales. Many items were transferred again in early 1942 to Westwood Quarry in Wiltshire. The evacuation proved timely because the Duveen Gallery was severely damaged by bombing in 1940. On the night of May 10 to 11, 1941, incendiaries destroyed the book stack and 150,000 books in the courtyard. Damage to galleries around the Great Staircase was not fully repaired until the early 1960s. A conservation laboratory set up in May 1920 became a permanent department in 1931. It remains the oldest such establishment in continuous existence today. Post-war years focused on returning collections from protection sites and restoring the museum after the Blitz.
The Department of Egypt and Sudan holds over 110,000 objects spanning 11,000 years of history. Room 4 displays monumental sculpture including the Rosetta Stone dated 196 BC. The collection includes 140 mummies and coffins making it the largest outside Cairo. Highlights range from Predynastic flint knives to New Kingdom papyri like the Book of Ani. The Department of Greece and Rome contains over 100,000 objects from the Bronze Age to 313 AD. Room 18 houses Parthenon Marbles dating between 447 and 438 BC. Visitors can see Caryatids from the Erechtheion built in 415 BC. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus occupies Room 21 with colossal figures identified as Maussollos and Artemisia. The Department of the Middle East possesses 330,000 works forming the largest Mesopotamian collection outside Iraq. Room 9 features Assyrian palace reliefs from Nineveh dated 701 to 681 BC. Room 52 displays the Cyrus Cylinder created between 559 and 530 BC.
Some acquisitions remain subject to long-term disputes regarding ownership claims. The Greek Elgin Marbles were removed by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, between 1799 and 1803. He transferred a large collection of marble sculptures from the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens to the UK. These masterpieces entered the museum's possession via the British Museum Act 1816. The Egyptian Rosetta Stone was presented to King George III in 1802 after the defeat of French forces at the Battle of the Nile. It serves as key evidence for deciphering hieroglyphs. Both artifacts face ongoing repatriation claims from Greece and Egypt respectively. The museum maintains these items while acknowledging the historical context of their acquisition during periods of colonial expansion. Disputes continue over whether these objects should return to their countries of origin or remain in London for global access.
In 2023, the museum received 5,820,860 visitors making it the most visited attraction in the United Kingdom. This figure represents a 42% increase compared to 2022 numbers. The online database held nearly 4,500,000 individual object entries across 2,000,000 records at the start of 2023. There were 27 million visits to the website during 2022, 23 compared to 19.5 million in 2013. The museum showcases less than 1% of its entire collection on public display. Approximately 50,000 items are visible among nearly one hundred galleries open to the public. The Round Reading Room closed in 1997 when the British Library moved to St Pancras. It now functions as the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Centre. A £135 million World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened in March 2014 to provide temporary exhibition space. Blythe House served as off-site storage until the British Museum Archeological Collection facility near Reading opened in 2024.
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Common questions
When was the British Museum established by King George II?
King George II gave his royal assent to an act of Parliament that established the British Museum on the 7th of June 1753. The museum opened its doors to the public on the 15th of January 1759.
What is the largest collection held by the Department of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum?
The Department of Egypt and Sudan holds over 110,000 objects spanning 11,000 years of history. This department contains 140 mummies and coffins making it the largest collection outside Cairo.
How many visitors did the British Museum receive in 2023?
In 2023, the British Museum received 5,820,860 visitors making it the most visited attraction in the United Kingdom. This figure represents a 42% increase compared to 2022 numbers.
Which artifacts are subject to long-term ownership disputes involving Greece and Egypt?
The Greek Elgin Marbles were removed between 1799 and 1803 and face ongoing repatriation claims from Greece. The Egyptian Rosetta Stone was presented to King George III in 1802 and faces similar claims from Egypt regarding its return to its country of origin.
When did the British Museum begin relocating items due to tensions with Nazi Germany?
On the 24th of August 1939, just one day after government advice, the museum began relocating selected items to secure basements and country houses. Many items were transferred again in early 1942 to Westwood Quarry in Wiltshire.