John Marion Riddle was born August 19, 1937, in Lancaster, South Carolina. He attended Lenoir Rhyne College on a full scholarship and graduated with honors in 1959. Receiving a scholarship from the School of Medicine, he earned an M.A. in 1961 from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and completed his thesis, The Political History of the Nabataeans from Roman Intervention until Loss of Independence in 106 A.D., under the direction of Wallace E. Caldwell. He earned his Ph.D. in 1963 also from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and completed his doctoral thesis, Amber and Amergergris in materia medica during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, under the direction of Loren C. MacKinney.
Immediately following, Riddle won Professional Development Awards from Wisconsin State University at Eau Claire in 1964 and North Carolina State University in 1965 and 1966. He recieved an International Travel Grant in 1967 from the Hebrew Union University in Jerusalem. However, the grant was terminated because of the military conflicts in Vietnam. His early professional experiences include Teaching Assistantships at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and at Wisconsin State University in 1962-1963. He earned a Research Assistantship from the Medizinhistorisches Institut der Universität in Bonn, Germany.
John Riddle was an Aassistant professor of history at North Carolina State University in 1965-1969; an associate professor in 1969-1976; a professor in 1976; Head of the Division of University Studies, 1982-1988; Alumni Distinguished Professor (for teaching), 1994; Head of Department of History, 1995-1998; Alumni Distinguished Professor (for research), 1999; and is presently a professor emeritus. John M. Riddle has published upwards of sixty articles in scholarly books and journals, given approximately sixty paper readings at universities and scholarly conventions, published five books, held offices and memberships in learned societies, earned numerous scholarships and endowments, and even won the prestigious Urdang International Medal in 1987. Professor Riddle has also featured stories in the New York Times, Washington Post, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, Manchester Guardian, and Time Magazine. He has contributed to documentaries on Discovery Channel (January 2000) and BBC (June 2000), and has been interviewed for broadcasts on CBS, PBS, CBC, Bavarian television, and CNN.
From the guide to the John M. Riddle microfilm and papers about lapidaries, 300s BCE-1500s CE, 1950s-1970s, (Special Collections Research Center)
