Ashmole, Elias English archaeologist and antiquary. He made exhaustive antiquarian studies, especially The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Order of the Garter (1672) and The Antiquities of Berkshire. In 1677 he donated to Oxford University a collection of curiosities, including his own contributions and those bequeathed to him by a friend (John Tradescant). His gift formed the nucleus of the Ashmolean Museum, the first such public institution in England. He later donated his library to Oxford, and the whole was housed in a building erected by Sir Christopher Wren. The collection is now in a 19th-century building and includes European works of art from medieval to present times as well as Asian works. (Text Source The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition).

Ashmole lived next door to John Tradescant in the area now known as Tradescant Road and Walberswick Street.