Alfred Chester Beatty in the context of "Papyrus 45"

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⭐ Core Definition: Alfred Chester Beatty

Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, (7 February 1875 – 19 January 1968) was an American mining magnate and philanthropist. A successful businessman, he was given the epithet the "King of Copper", in reference to his fortune. He became a naturalised British subject in 1933, was knighted in 1954, and was made an honorary citizen of Ireland in 1957.

Beatty collected African, Asian, European and Middle Eastern manuscripts, rare printed books, prints as objets d'art. After moving to Dublin in 1950, he established the Chester Beatty Library on Shrewsbury Road to house his collection; it opened to the public in 1954. The collections were bequeathed to the Irish people and entrusted to the care of the state in his Irish will. He donated several papyrus documents to the British Museum, his second wife's collection of Marie Antoinette's personal furniture to the Louvre and a number of his personal paintings that once hung in the picture gallery of his London home to the National Gallery of Ireland. He also made possible the expansion and relocation of the Cancer Research Institute, which was renamed the Chester Beatty Institute, and later renamed the Institute of Cancer Research, in 1939.

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πŸ‘‰ Alfred Chester Beatty in the context of Papyrus 45

Papyrus 45 (P. Chester Beatty I) is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri, a group of early Christian manuscripts discovered in the 1930s, and purchased by business man and philanthropist, Alfred Chester Beatty. It is designated by the siglum 𝔓 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Beatty purchased the manuscript in the 1930s from an Egyptian book dealer, and it was subsequently published in The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Descriptions and Texts of Twelve Manuscripts on Papyrus of the Greek Bible by palaeographer, biblical and classical scholar Frederic G. Kenyon in 1933. Manuscripts among the Chester Beatty Papyri have had several places of discovery associated with them, the most likely being the Faiyum in Egypt (the dry sands of Egypt have been a haven for finding very early manuscripts since the late 1800s). Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the early 3rd century CE. This therefore makes it the earliest example of not only the four Gospels contained in one volume, but also the Acts of the Apostles. It contains verses in fragmentary form from the texts of Matthew chapters 20–21 and 25–26; Mark chapters 4–9 and 11–12; Luke chapters 6–7 and 9–14; John chapters 4–5 and 10–11; and Acts chapters 4–17.

The manuscript is currently housed at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland, except for one leaf containing Matt. 25:41–26:39, which is in the Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna (Pap. Vindob. G. 31974).

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Alfred Chester Beatty in the context of Chester Beatty Library

The Chester Beatty Library, now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in the grounds of Dublin Castle, Ireland. It was established in 1953 at 20 Shewsbury Road, Dublin 4, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum opened on 7 February 2000, the 125th anniversary of Beatty's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.

The Chester Beatty is one of the premier sources for scholarship in both the Old and New Testaments and is home to one of the most significant collections of historical artefacts and manuscripts from all over the world. The museum also offers numerous temporary exhibitions, many of which include works of art on loan from foreign institutions and collections. The museum contains a number of priceless objects, including one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani, one of the last surviving Manichaean scriptures. Many manuscripts from the Medinet Madi library are currently held at the Chester Beatty Library.

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Alfred Chester Beatty in the context of Chester Beatty Papyri

The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. The manuscripts are in Greek and are of Christian origin. There are eleven manuscripts in the group, seven consisting of portions of Old Testament books, three consisting of portions of the New Testament (referred to with the Gregory-Γ…land no. (a list of New Testament manuscripts) 𝔓, 𝔓, and 𝔓), and one consisting of portions of the Book of Enoch and an unidentified Christian homily. Most are dated to the 3rd century CE. They are housed in part at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, and in part at the University of Michigan, among a few other locations.

The papyri were most likely first obtained by dealers in illegal antiquities. Because of this, the exact circumstances of the find are not clear. One account states that the manuscripts were in jars in a Coptic graveyard near the ruins of the ancient city of Aphroditopolis. Other theories have proposed that the collection was found near the Fayum instead of Aphroditopolis, or that the location was a Christian church or monastery instead of a graveyard. Most of the papyri were bought from a dealer by Alfred Chester Beatty, after whom the manuscripts are named, although some leaves and fragments were acquired by the University of Michigan and a few other collectors and institutions.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Chester Beatty Library ← Chester Beatty Papyri ← Papyrus 45
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Copper → British subject → Knight Bachelor → Irish nationality law → Republic of Ireland → Manuscript → Objet d'art → Dublin → Chester Beatty Library → Shrewsbury Road → Irish people → British Museum → Marie Antoinette → Louvre → London → National Gallery of Ireland → Cancer Research Institute → Institute of Cancer Research →