A. Mawer

Sir Allen Mawer, (8 May 1879 − 22 July 1942) was an English philologist. A notable researcher of Viking activity in the British Isles, Mawer is best known as the founder of the English Place-Name Society, and as Provost of University College London from 1929 to 1942.

Early life

Allen Mawer was born at Bow, London, on 8 May 1879. He was born the second child and eldest son of five children, to George Henry Mawer of South Hackney and Clara Isabella Allen. His father was a commercial traveller in fancy trimmings and secretary of the Country Towns' Mission.

Mawer's parents were of strong religious feeling who valued education. Through them, he acquired an abiding love for literature and history, and early knowledge of Greek and Latin.

Education

Mawer entered Coopers' Company Grammar School at the age of ten, where he won a scholarship at the end of his first term. In 1897 he sat as an external candidate for an Honours Degree in English at London University, obtaining a First Class in his examination. Mawer entered University College London in 1898 as a graduate, where he was the Morley Medallist. At University College London, Professor W. P. Ker had a particularly strong influence on him.

Mawer entered Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, in October 1901 as a foundation scholar, residing there for three years, obtaining a double mark of distinction in the English sections of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos. Supported by a Research Studentship given to him by the college, he spent the next year studying Viking activity in England, in particular the subject of Old Norse place-names.