Richard David Barnett, CBE, FBA (23 January 1909 – 29 July 1986) was the Keeper, Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities of the British Museum.
[1] Born on 23 January 1909, Barnett was the son of Lionel David Barnett, who was the Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts at the British Museum from 1908 to 1936.
[1] In 1932, Barnett was appointed an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum.
On demobilisation, he returned to his post at the British Museum in 1946[1] and was promoted to Deputy Keeper in 1953.
[1] He then spent the 1974-75 year as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.