George Rawlinson

Best known as a historian, translator, and clergyman, George Rawlinson was born on November 23, 1812, and died on October 6, 1902. He studied at Oxford and spent much of his career there, becoming closely associated with the university as both a teacher and a scholar.

Rawlinson wrote extensively on the ancient world, especially Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, Parthia, and other civilizations of the Near East. He is also remembered for his English translation of Herodotus, a work that helped many Victorian readers encounter classical history in an accessible form.

Alongside his historical writing, he was a Christian theologian and churchman, and his books often reflect a strong interest in biblical history and the relationship between faith and the study of the ancient past. Today, he is chiefly remembered as one of the energetic popularizers of ancient history in 19th-century Britain.