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Date(s)
- 1900 (Creation)
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Edward William West was born in 1824 and was educated at Kings College, London. He was a scholar of Zoroastrianism and translator of Pahlavi texts. He worked in India from 1844 for twenty years, as a civil engineer. In this time he became interested in the study of the Zoroastrian religion and undertook study to be able to understand its languages. He prepared five volumes of Pahlavi texts (the Marvels of Zoroastrianism) for Professor Max Müller's Sacred Books of the East series, published from the years 1880 to 1897. He was made an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Munchen.
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The series consists of a newspaper cutting reporting on the conferment of the Gold Medal upon Dr E.W. West.
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- English
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Related units of description
The Council Minutes, for 8 May 1900, record that Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, on behalf of the Medal Selection Committee, have selected Dr E.W. West as its recipient. The Council unanimously confirmed the selection.
The Journal for the Royal Asiatic Society 1900 (3), p.618 contains a paragraph about the awarding of the Medal to Dr. E.W. West in recognition of his distinguished services to historical research in the field of Zoroastrianism. The presentation will be made by H.H.H., the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House.
The Society holds some Personal Papers for E.W. West. These are currently uncatalogued but a list is available in the Reading Room.