William Gowland
| William Gowland | |
|---|---|
William Gowland
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| Born | 16 December 1842 Sunderland, County Durham, England |
| Died |
9 June 1922 (aged 79) London |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | metallurgist, amateur archaeologist, foreign advisor to Japan |
| Known for | Foreign advisor to Meiji Japan |
William Gowland (16 December 1842 – 9 June 1922) was an English mining engineer most famous for his archaeological work at Stonehenge and in Japan. He has been called the "Father of Japanese Archaeology".
Gowland was born in Sunderland, County Durham, in northern England. He attended the Royal College of Chemistry and Royal School of Mines at South Kensington, specialising in metallurgy, and worked as a chemist and as a metallurgist at the Broughton Copper Company from 1870 to 1872. However, in 1872, at the age of 30, he was recruited by the Meiji government of the Empire of Japan as a foreign engineering advisor at the Osaka Zōheikyoku, the forerunner of the Japan Mint.
Gowland began work in Osaka on 8 October 1872 on the three-year contract that was typical of many of the foreigners employed to aid the modernisation of Japan. His contract was repeatedly extended, and he stayed for 16 years, during which time he introduced techniques for the scientific analysis of metals, the production of bronze and copper alloys for coinage, and modern technologies such as the reverberatory furnace for improving the efficiency of refining copper ores. His expertise extended to areas outside the Japan Mint, and he also served as a consultant to the Imperial Japanese Army, helping to establish the Osaka Arsenal for production of artillery. In 1883, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (4th class) by the Japanese government.
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