William Ouseley
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| Sir William Ouseley | |
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| Born | 1769 Monmouthshire, Wales |
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| Died | September 1842 Boulogne |
| Occupation | Diplomatic Secretary, Artist and Linguist |
| Spouse | m. (06.03.1796) Julia Frances Irving (dau of Lt. Col. John Irving) |
| Children | many |
| Parents | Captain Ralph Ouseley[1] and Elizabeth nee Holland |
Sir William Ouseley (1769 - September, 1842), was a British Orientalist.
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[edit] Early Life
Ouseley was born in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, the eldest son of Captain Ralph Ouseley, of an old Irish family. After a private education he went to Paris, in 1787, to learn French, and there laid the foundation of his interest in Persian literature. In 1788 he became a cornet, a junior cavalry officer, in the 8th regiment of dragoons. At the end of 1794 he sold his commission and went to Leiden to study Persian.[1]
[edit] Marriage & Family Life
He married Julia Frances Irving in 1796 and had a large number of children. The eldest was Sir William Gore Ouseley who was a diplomat in South America and a renowned artist.
[edit] Knighted
In 1800, Charles Lord Cornwallis (1738-1805), who from 1786 to 1793 had been Governor-General of India, had him knighted in recognition of his promotion of oriental studies.[2]
[edit] Published Works
In 1795 he published Persian Miscellanies; in 1797-1799, Oriental Collections; in 1799, Epitome of the Ancient History of Persia; in 1800, The Oriental Geography of Ebn Haukal (The Oriental Geography of Ibn Hawqal);and in 1801, a translation of the Bakhtiyar Nama and Observations on Some Medals and Gems. He received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Dublin in 1797, and in 1800 he was knighted.[1]
[edit] Persia
When his younger brother, Sir Gore Ouseley, was sent, in 1810, as Ambassador to what was then called Persia (Iran), Sir William accompanied him as his Secretary. He returned to England in 1813, and in 1819-1823 published, in three volumes, Travels in Various Countries of Middle East, especially Persia (Iran), in 1810, 1811 and 1852. He also published editions of the Travels and Arabian Proverbs of Burckhardt. He contributed a number of important papers to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature.
