Club Past President Archeologist and Curator John Henry Illife

First Curator of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem—

Archeologist John Henry Illife, Club President 1942-43
John H. Illife, a British Archeologist, was our Club’s President in Rotary Year 1942-43.. As the Rockefeller museum's first curator, John established the museum's permanent display, which presents objects from the Stone Age (some two million years ago) until 1700 CE in chronological order.
The museum, which opened in 1938 and called the Palestine Archaeological Museum, , was funded by $2 million pledged by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to match an endowment fund. The building, designed by Austen St. Barbe Harrison, stands on ten acres facing the Old City walls.
Among Illife’s archeological contributions was in 1934 he surveyed the town on the Spice/Incense Route in the Negev where he found Nabatean and early Roman potsherds. Another area of his expertise and discover dealt with burial practices in the ancient Holy Land.
P/P Illife followed the footsteps of our founding Club President, the renowned British Archeologist John W. Crowfoot.