William Foxwell Albright (1891-1971) was a well-known, prolific, and gifted archaeologist and scholar of the ancient Near East. He excavated several Biblical sites, served as director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, and was a professor of Semitic languages at Johns Hopkins University for many years.

Albright was born on May 24, 1891 in Coquimbo, Chile, to Methodist missionary parents who were stationed in the Atacama Desert. His family had very modest means. Although they were able to provide the bare necessities of life, he and his three brothers and two sisters were not brought up with any luxuries. The family lived in a missionary compound separate from the Chilean people. They were constantly reminded of their cultural differences. When Albright's parents wanted him to do errands for them outside the compound, they had to spank him in order to force him to go out and face the Chilean...