Sir William Mitchell Ramsay (15 March 1851 – 20 April 1939) was a British archaeologist and New Testament scholar. He was the foremost authority of his day on the history of Asia Minor, and a leading scholar in the study of the New Testament.

Ramsay was educated in the Tübingen school of thought (founded by F. C. Baur) From the post of Professor of Classical Art and Architecture at Oxford, he was appointed Regius Professor of Humanity at Aberdeen.

Knighted in 1906 to mark his distinguished service to the world of scholarship, Ramsay also gained three honorary fellowships from Oxford colleges, nine honorary doctorates from British, Continental and North American universities, and became an honorary member of almost every association devoted to archaeology and historical research.

At the end of his career he became involved in Christian apologetics, which combined with his argumentative and caustic tendencies ultimately harmed his reputation among scholars. He died at his home in Bournemouth on the 20th of April, 1939.

Early life and education

Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the youngest son of a third-generation lawyer, Thomas Ramsay and his wife Jane Mitchell, daughter of William Mitchell. His father died when he was six years old, and the family moved from the city to the family home in the country district near Alloa. The help of his older brother and his maternal uncle, Andrew Mitchell of Alloa, made it possible for him to receive an education at the Gymnasium in Old Aberdeen. (Other relatives include Mary Ramsay and Agnes Margaret Ramsay, who contributed photographs and illustrations in Ramsay's later work, The Letters to the Seven Churches. Greece and Turkey remained the focus of Ramsay's research for the remainder of his academic career. In November 1881, he discovered two of the most important Phrygian monuments – the rock tombs "Aslantaş" (Lion Stone) and "Yılantaş" (Snake Stone), located close to the city centre of Afyon. In 1883, he discovered the world's oldest complete piece of music, the Seikilos epitaph. In 1890 he discovered inscriptions in an unknown Anatolian language, Pisidian, a description of which he published in 1895. He was known for his expertise in the historic geography and topography of Asia Minor and of its political, social, cultural, and religious history.

After becoming a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford in 1882, from 1885 to 1886 Ramsay held the newly created Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at Oxford and became a fellow of Lincoln College (honorary fellow 1898). In 1886 Ramsay was appointed Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen.

Perspective on biblical historicity

When Ramsay first travelled to Asia Minor, the locations of many of the cities mentioned in the Book of Acts were not known. Later in life Ramsay stated, "Further study ... showed that the book could bear the most minute scrutiny as an authority for the facts of the Aegean world, and that it was written with such judgment, skill, art and perception of truth as to be a model of historical statement", also stating that one "may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian's".

Regarding the authorship of the Pauline epistles Ramsay also concluded that all thirteen New Testament letters ostensibly written by Paul were in fact authentic.

Awards, recognition, leadership positions

Beginning in 1880, Ramsay began receiving honorary degrees, which eventually included a D.C.L. from Oxford, LL.D. recognition from St Andrews and Glasgow, and a D.D. from Edinburgh. In 1906, Ramsay was knighted for his scholarly achievements on the 400th anniversary of the founding of the University of Aberdeen. He was elected a member of learned societies in Europe and America and was awarded a medal by the University of Pennsylvania.

Legacy of scholarship

Ramsay is recognised as an important scholar in the archaeology of Asia Minor as well as the study of the New Testament, mainly from his 19th century work. In the 1960s, W. Ward Gasque listed three significant contributions of his to biblical studies: his conclusion of the reliability and accuracy of Luke-Acts; his identification of the Galatians with the Christians of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch; and his emphasis on the historical context of the New Testament.

  • A Historical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1899).
  • The Education of Christ: Hill-Side Reveries (1902).
  • Pictures of the Apostolic Church: Studies in the Book of Acts.
  • The Church in the Roman Empire (1893).
  • A Historical Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1900–1901.
  • Pauline and other Studies in Early Christian History (1906).
  • Studies in the History and Art of the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire (1906).
  • The Cities of St Paul: Their Influence on His Life and Thought (1907).
  • Luke the Physician, and Other Studies in the History of Religion (1908).
  • The Revolution in Constantinople and Turkey; A Diary (1909).
  • The Thousand and One Churches (with Gertrude L. Bell, 1909).