Hawkins , Edward , 1780-1867 , museum curator and numismatist

Edward Hawkins was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated locally and in Kensington. As a young man he worked in banks in Cheshire and in Wales. He was interested in botany and history from an early age and became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1806, a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1821, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1826. His greatest interests as a scholar, however, was coins; he was a founder-member of the Numismatic Society of London and served twice as its president. In 1825 Hawkins became assistant keeper of the Department of Antiquities at the British Museum; he was promoted to keeper the following year and retained the position for 35 years.