Ashmole, Elias (1617–1692)

English antiquary. His collection forms the basis of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England. He wrote books on alchemy, astrology, and on antiquarian subjects, and amassed a fine library and a collection of curiosities, both of which he presented to Oxford University in 1682. His collection was housed in the ‘Old Ashmolean’ (built 1679–83); the present Ashmolean Museum was erected in 1897.

Ashmole was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire. He studied law and in 1638 became a solicitor in Chancery. In 1645, during the Civil War, he became one of the gentlemen of the ordnance in the Royalist garrison at Oxford, and afterwards studied natural philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy at Oxford. In 1660 Charles II appointed him Windsor herald; he became a barrister and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. He wrote a History of the Order of the Garter in 1672. Rare items from America, Africa, and the South Seas bequeathed to him from his friend the botanist John Tradescant formed the basis of the Ashmolean Collection.