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Maxwell Sommerville (May 1, 1829 to May 5, 1904) was an American publisher, ethnographer, and antiquities collector who was the first and only professor of glyptology at the University of Pennsylvania, and possibly the world. Described in modern sources as an eccentric, Sommerville's wealth, penchant for international travel, and extensive collections of relics and artifacts earned him significant press attention during his life.

Born in Clarksville, Virginia, and raised in Philadelphia, Maxwell Sommerville died in Paris while preparing to leave on an expedition to Asia and Africa.

Early life and education
Maxwell Sommerville was born in Clarksville, Virginia. His father died when he was a child and his mother subsequently relocated to Philadelphia, where the young Sommerville lived with his maternal grandfather, James MacAlten. MacAlten was the owner of several Greek vases and these reportedly piqued Sommerville's interest in antiquities.

Sommerville was educated at Central High School, from which he graduated in 1847. He, thereafter, moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he worked as a newspaper reporter.

Career
In 1860 Sommerville returned to Philadelphia and took a job with the printing firm Sherman & Co., later marrying Annie Sherman, the daughter of the company's owner.

In retirement, Sommerville traveled frequently, visiting Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, India, Burma, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the islands of the Mediterranean, acquiring a large number of engraved gems, as well as other ethnographic artifacts, during the course of his travels. His gem collection, specifically, became one of the best known in the world and was loaned for a three-year exhibit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During the American Civil War, Sommerville enlisted in the Commonwealth Artillery - a municipal militia company - and served for three months at Fort Delaware.

Though Sommerville had no formal education beyond high school, in 1889 the University of Pennsylvania appointed him professor of glyptology, with contemporary critics noting it was probably done in exchange for his agreement to donate his valuable gem collection to the university. Sommerville's appointment made him the first and only professor of glyptology at the University of Pennsylvania and, as of 2010, probably the world. One faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania sardonically noted at the time of Sommerville's appointment that the word "glyptology" was added to the dictionary only due to the intervention of the president of the university.

After his appointment as professor of glyptology he set about constructing a Buddhist temple within the confines of the Penn Museum. Decorated with items he'd collected during the course of his travels, the project took three years to complete, opening to the public for the first time in 1899.

Sommerville was a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the American Oriental Society, and the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia.

Death
In March 1904, Sommerville departed the United States in preparation for an expedition to Africa and Asia. While in Paris, he became ill and - on May 5 - died at the Hotel du Louvre, his cause of death listed as heart disease. On May 17, 1904, Sommerville's wife - with whom he was traveling at the time of his death - arrived with his body in New York aboard the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. There, they were met by Sommerville's private secretary, Robert Graham, for the journey to Philadelphia. A funeral was held on May 20 in Sommerville's home at 311 South Tenth Street with Rev. Jesse Burk, secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, officiating. Sommerville was interred at Philadelphia's Mount Vernon Cemetery.

Personal life
Following the death of his first wife, Annie Sherman, Sommerville married the former Annie Patten. He had no children. Sommerville was a Freemason.

Legacy
The year following his death, Sommerville's estate - which was valued at a million dollars - bequeathed $60,000 to the University of Pennsylvania, with the remainder divided among Masonic organizations and the various societies to which Sommerville had belonged.

Sommerville's collection of gems remains in the custody of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Except for a small show in 1956, they have not been exhibited since his death.