| Anthony Richard Birley | |
| Birth Date: | 8 October 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Chesterholm, Northumberland, England |
| Discipline: | Archaeology and classics |
| Sub Discipline: | Roman archaeology |
| Alma Mater: | Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Thesis1 Title: | and |
| Thesis2 Title: | )--> |
| Thesis1 Year: | and |
| Thesis2 Year: | )--> |
| Doctoral Advisors: | )--> |
| Partners: | )--> |
Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020)[1] was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley.
Anthony Birley was the son of the archaeologists Eric Birley and Margaret "Peggy" Birley. Eric bought the house next to the archeological site Vindolanda where Anthony and his brother, Robin, began to excavate the site. The brothers took part in many of the excavations there. From 1950 to 1955, Anthony studied at Clifton College, a private school in Bristol, England. He studied classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with a first-class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1960. He remained at the University of Oxford, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1966: his doctoral thesis was titled "The Roman high command from the death of Hadrian to the death of Caracalla, with particular attention to the Danubian wars of M. Aurelius and Commodus".[2]
Birley remained at the University of Oxford with a Craven Fellowship from 1960 to 1962, and was then a research fellow at the University of Birmingham. He moved to the University of Leeds as a lecturer, and was later promoted to Reader. He was the Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester (1974–1990) and additionally at the University of Düsseldorf (1990–2002).[3] He was an Honorary Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Durham.[4]
He was elected as Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 1969,[5] and was a corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute (1981) and a member of Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften from 1994 to 2002.
Birley was a founder trustee of the Vindolanda Trust since 1970 and remained in this role until 2016, having also served as the Chair of Trustees from 1996 to 2016.
Birley was married to Susanna Garforth-Bles in 1963; they had two children, Ursula born 1964 and Hamish born 1966. They divorced in 1986.In 1989 he married Heide.[6] and gained three step-children
Birley died of lung cancer on 19 December 2020.[7]
a Biography, London: Routledge, (1993)
the Restless Emperor, London: Routledge, (1997)