J. F. Blakiston

Blakiston was born on 21 March 1882 in the United Kingdom and educated at the Wellington College as an architect. In March 1911, Blakiston joined the Archaeological Survey of India. Blakiston was in active military service from 1915 to 1919 including a stint in France in 1917 and 1918.

Blakiston served as Assistant Superintendent of Eastern Circle and later, Superintendent of the Northern Circle during the 1920s. He also served as Deputy Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, the second highest post in the survey during the tenures of John Marshall and Harold Hargreaves before being superseded by Daya Ram Sahni in 1931. On Sahni's retirement on 1 June 1935, Blakiston succeeded him as Director General.

• The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. Bennett, Coleman & Co. 1938. p. 944.