William McGuckin (also Mac Guckin and MacGuckin), known as Baron de Slane ( Belfast, Ireland, 12 August 1801 - Paris, France, 4 August 1878) was an Irish orientalist. He became a French national on 31 December 1838. and held the post of the Principal Interpreter of Arabic of the French Army from 1 September 1846 until his retirement on 28 March 1872. He is known for publishing and translating a number of important medieval Arabic texts.

Biography

De Slane was born in Belfast, the son of James McGuckin and Euphemia Hughes. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, in 1822 he moved to Paris and studied oriental languages under Silvestre de Sacy. In 1828 he was admitted to the Société Asiatique, a French learned society. The society financed Joseph Toussaint Reinaud and de Slane to prepare a critical edition of

Abu'l-Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...

(أبو الفداء)'s Arabic geography, ''Taqwīm al-Buldān'' (تقويم البلدان) - "Locating the Lands" (1321). This was published in 1840. Between 1843 and 1846 he was sent on a mission by the French Government to catalogue important documents in the libraries of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

and Constantine. During this time he also served as an Interpreter of Arabic in the French African Army and in 1846 he was appointed as Principal Interpreter for the French African army. He served as Professor of Arabic at the École de langues orientales in Paris and from 1849 also taught Turkish. He was also commissioned by the Bibliothèque Nationale to catalogue their Arabic manuscripts. On 30 October 1826 he married Angadrème Sophie Félicité de la Barre de Mérona. She died seven years later on 24 September 1833. He then married Anne Elise Sutton de Clonard and together they had five children. De Slane was awarded French citizenship on 31 December 1838. He died aged 76 in

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

, France on the 4 August 1878. In France he was awarded following honours: * Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, 24 September 1846 *

Officer of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, 26 December 1852 * Officer of the

Instruction Publique Instruction or instructions may refer to: Computing * Instruction, one operation of a processor within a computer architecture instruction set * Computer program, a collection of instructions Music * Instruction (band), a 2002 rock band from New ...

* Officer of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...

, awarded by King of Sardinia * Elected Member, 1862, of the Institut de France * Founding Member of the Association Historique Algérienne

Selected publications

Arabic text of

's ''Takwin al-Buldan'', one volume, 1840 * Translation of a section of

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

's rihla, 1843 * Translation of Ibn Khallikan's biographical dictionary, four volumes, 1843-1871 * * * * Arabic text of

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...

's ''Histoire des Berbères'', 2 volumes, 1847-1851 * * Translation of

's ''Histoire des Berbères'', 4 volumes, 1852-1856 * * * * Translation of '' Al-Bakri'', 1859, one volume
Revised edition with corrections
(1913), Tangiers: Adolphe Jourdan. Translation of

's '' Muqaddimah'' (''Prolegomena''), three volumes, 1863-1868 * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slane, William McGuckin de Irish orientalists Irish Arabists French Arabists French philologists Members of the Société Asiatique Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French translators Arabic–French translators Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Writers from Belfast 1801 births 1878 deaths