author
H. Mortimer (Henry Mortimer) Durand
1850–1924
Best known for giving his name to the Durand Line, he was a British diplomat and Indian Civil Service officer whose career centered on the politics of British India, Afghanistan, Persia, and the United States. He also wrote books, including a biography of his father and works shaped by his years in imperial service.
1 Audiobook
The Thirteenth Hussars in the Great War
by H. Mortimer (Henry Mortimer) Durand
About the author
Born in Sehore, India, in 1850, Sir Henry Mortimer Durand built a long career in the Indian Civil Service and later in British diplomacy. Standard reference sources agree that he is most closely associated with the 1893 agreement that established the Durand Line between Afghanistan and British India, a border decision that has had a long afterlife in South Asian history.
Durand also served in several major posts beyond the Afghan frontier question. Accounts of his career describe him as having worked in British India, served as minister in Tehran, and later represented Britain in Washington, D.C. That range helps explain why his name appears both in imperial history and in diplomatic history.
He was also an author. In addition to official and diplomatic work, he wrote books, including a biography of his father, Major-General Sir Henry Marion Durand. For readers today, he stands out as a figure whose writing and public career were closely tied to the making of British imperial policy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.