The civilization of ancient Egypt has been a source of fascination for explorers and scholars for centuries, and has occupied a special place in the imagination of the public ever since early travellers' descriptions and illustrations of the strange culture of temples, tombs and hieroglyphs began to circulate around the world. The story of Egyptology from a hobby for the educated and wealthy to a highly formalized academic discipline provides the key to understanding how and why we know what we know about ancient Egypt. This biographical dictionary tells the stories of the most important contributors and will be an indispensable reference tool for scholars and enthusiasts alike.

Who Was Who in Egyptology remains one of the most important reference works for understanding the characters that contributed to the field of Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology from the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt through to the present day. The fifth revised and expanded edition bring entries up to 2019, while further information has been added to numerous previous entries.