What is the nickname of the person who favored those who he thought exhibited bravery by standing up to authority?
Wheeler was known as "Rik" among friends. He divided opinion among those who knew him, with some loving and others despising him, and during his lifetime, he was often criticised on both scholarly and moral grounds. The archaeologist Max Mallowan asserted that he "was a delightful, light-hearted and amusing companion, but those close to him knew that he could be a dangerous opponent if threatened with frustration".
His charm offensives were often condemned as being insincere. During excavations, he was known as an authoritarian leader but favoured those who he thought exhibited bravery by standing up to his authority. Hence, he has been termed "a benevolent dictator". He was meticulous in his writings, and would repeatedly revise and rewrite both pieces for publication and personal letters. Throughout his life, he was a heavy smoker.Wheeler expressed the view that he was "the least political of mortals". Despite not taking a strong interest in politics, Wheeler was described by his biographer as "a natural conservative"; for instance, during his youth he was strongly critical of the Suffragettes and their cause of greater legal rights for women. Nevertheless, he was "usually happy to advance young women professionally", something that may have been based largely on his sexual attraction toward them. He expressed little interest in his relatives; in later life, he saw no reason to have a social relationship with people purely on the basis of family ties.Wheeler was married three times. In May 1914, Wheeler married Tessa Verney. Tessa became an accomplished archaeologist, and they collaborated until she died in 1936. Their only child, Michael Mortimer Wheeler, was born in January 1915; he became a barrister. Following Tessa's death, in 1939, Wheeler married Mavis de Vere Cole, widow of the prankster Horace de Vere Cole. Their relationship was strained; Cole's diaries revealed that Wheeler physically hit her when she annoyed him. In 1945 Mortimer Wheeler married his third wife, Margaret "Kim" Collingridge. Although they became estranged in 1956, Collingridge's Catholicism prevented divorce. Meanwhile, Wheeler was well known for his conspicuous promiscuity, favouring young women for one-night stands, many of whom were his students. He was further known for having casual sex in public places. That behaviour led to much emotional suffering among his various wives and mistresses of which he was aware. As a result of his behaviour, later archaeologist Gabriel Moshenska informed a reporter from the Daily Mail that Wheeler had developed a reputation as "a bit of a groper and a sex pest and an incredible bully as well".
Rik