Seager, Richard B.

Seager, Richard B. (Berry) (1882–1925) archaeologist; born in Lansing, Mich. Son of a propserous lawyer (and brother of a well-known economist, Henry Rogers Seager, 1870–1930) he was forced by a heart condition to leave Harvard. But he recuperated in Germany and then pursued his own studies of classics and archaeology; he would spend most of the rest of his life in Europe. In 1903, in Greece, he met Edith Boyd (Hawes), a young American who had recently begun to excavate Minoan remains on Crete. Seager joined her and soon was in charge of his own site, Vasilike. He continued to excavate for many years on Crete and wrote several important scholarly monographs, particularly on his finds at Pachyammos, Mochlos, and Pseira. He was also a collector of sealstones and other small artifacts, which he donated to various museums. Having originally gone to Egypt to see the discoveries from the tomb of Tutankhamon, he was taken ill on ship returning to Crete and died at sea.