William Hookham Carpenter

William Hookham Carpenter
William Hookham Carpenter by his wife
Born	1792 London
Died	1866 British Museum
Nationality	British
Employer	British Museum
Spouse	Margaret Geddes

William Hookham Carpenter (1792–1866) was a British antiquary, and Keeper of Prints at the British Museum.

Biography

Carpenter was born in Bruton Street, London on 2 March 1792. He was the son of James Carpenter, a bookseller in Old Bond Street. In 1817 Carpenter married Margaret Sarah Geddes who was a noted portrait-painter, as Margaret Sarah Carpenter. He tried painting and publishing but eventually found employment as the Keeper of Prints at the British Museum. He purchased a number of notable drawings including some by Michelangelo and Raphael.

Carpenter died at the British Museum in July 1866 and was buried with his wife Margaret (d.1872) and daughter, Henrietta (d.1895), on the western side of Highgate Cemetery. The grave (plot no. 14768) no longer has a headstone.

William and Margaret's children included two noted painters, another William and Percy Carpenter who both travelled and painted in the Indian subcontinent.