Herbert Allen Giles

Born on 8 December 1845, Herbert Allen Giles became a British diplomat in China before building a long academic career as professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge. His years in China and deep knowledge of the language made him one of the best-known interpreters of Chinese culture for English readers of his time.

He is especially remembered for developing the Wade–Giles system of romanization from earlier work by Thomas Wade, a spelling system that was widely used for Mandarin Chinese before pinyin became standard. Giles also produced translations and studies of major Chinese thinkers and writers, helping introduce works associated with Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi to many readers in the West.

His writing combined scholarship with a strong wish to make Chinese history, thought, and literature understandable to non-specialists. Although later systems and scholarship replaced parts of his work, his influence on Chinese studies in the English-speaking world remained significant long after his death on 13 February 1935.