author
George Smith
1840–1876
A self-taught scholar who changed the way the ancient world was understood, he became famous for uncovering and translating some of Mesopotamia’s most remarkable texts. His work brought the Epic of Gilgamesh and its flood story to a wide English-speaking audience.
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About the author
Born in Chelsea, London, on March 26, 1840, he began working life as an apprentice engraver rather than as a university-trained scholar. While studying cuneiform in his spare time at the British Museum, he developed such skill that he was eventually taken on there to work with Assyrian antiquities.
He became one of the pioneering figures of Assyriology, especially known for discovering and translating passages from the Epic of Gilgamesh. His 1872 announcement of a Babylonian flood narrative drew wide attention because of its striking resemblance to the biblical story of Noah, helping spark public interest in the literature of the ancient Near East.
He also wrote books including Assyrian Discoveries and The Chaldean Account of Genesis. His career was remarkably brief but influential: he died in Aleppo, Syria, on August 19, 1876, while on an expedition connected with his research.