Edward Impey
Edward Alexander Impey, is a British historian, archaeologist, and museum curator. Between October 2013 and January 2022 he was Master of the Armouries and Director General of the Royal Armouries.
Early life and education
Impey was born on 28 May 1962 to Oliver Impey and Jane Mellanby. His father was a zoologist by training who became specialist in Japanese art, and his mother was a neuroscientist. His grandfather Kenneth Mellanby was a biochemist. He grew up in the City of Oxford where his father was a curator at the Ashmolean Museum. He was educated at the Dragon School, a preparatory school in Oxford, and at Bedales School, a private school near Petersfield, Hampshire.Impey has degrees in history and archaeology. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Philosophy degree. At Oxford, the BA is promoted to a Master of Arts degree a number of years after graduating, and an MPhil is a two-year taught master's degree. He remained at the University of Oxford to undertake postgraduate research, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1991. His doctoral thesis was titled The origins and development of non-conventual monastic dependencies in England and Normandy 1000–1350.