Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Rau, Charles

RAU, Charles, archæologist, b. in Vervien, Belgium, in 1826; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 25 July, 1887. He was educated in Germany, came to the United States in 1848, and taught in the west and afterward in New York city. From 1875 until his death he was curator in the department of antiquities in the U. S. national museum in Washington, D. C. Devoting his attention to archaeology, he began to write on American antiquities for “Die Natur.” His contributions to the publications of the Smithsonian institution first appeared in 1863, and subsequently his articles were published in nearly every annual report of that institution, gaining for him a high reputation as an authority on American archæology. The University of Freiburg, Baden, gave him the degree of Ph.D. in 1882. He was a member of the principal archæological and anthropological societies of Europe and America, and published more than fifty papers, among which was a series on the “Stone Age in Europe,” originally contributed to “Harper's Magazine,” and afterward issued in book-form as “Early Man in Europe” (New York, 1876). His other publications were “The Archaeological Collection of the United States National Museum” (Washington, 1876); “The Palenque Tablet in the United States National Museum” (1879); “Articles on Anthropological Subjects,” 1853-'87 (1882); two partly published works on the types of North American implements; and one that was designed to be a comprehensive treatment of archæology in America. Dr. Rau bequeathed his library and collection to the U. S. national museum in Washington.