Herbert Allen Giles

Born in Oxford on 8 December 1845, Herbert Allen Giles was educated at Charterhouse before joining the British consular service in China. He served there from 1867 to 1892, an experience that gave him a deep, practical knowledge of Chinese language and culture.

After leaving the consular service, he became Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge, succeeding Thomas Wade, and held the chair for 35 years. Giles is especially remembered for developing the Wade–Giles system of romanization, which for many years was the best-known way of writing Mandarin Chinese in the Roman alphabet.

He was also a prolific writer and translator. Among his best-known works are A Chinese–English Dictionary and Chinese Biographical Dictionary, along with many books that introduced Chinese literature, philosophy, and everyday life to general readers. He died in Cambridge on 13 February 1935.