Claude Delaval Cobham (30 June 1842-1915) was a British Colonial official in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

from 1878 to 1908, from 1879 until 1907 he acted as the District Commissioner of

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

. He studied Literae Humaniores at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

from 1861 until 1865 and then did an M.A. in 1869. In July 1880 together with the High Commissioner Sir Robert Biddulph recommended to the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, the introduction of the English language to the primary schools of Cyprus at the expense of the Greek and Turkish languages of the two communities of the island. When this became known in Cyprus, it draw negative reactions from the locals and was rejected by Kimberley. Outside of his official work, Cobham was an antiquarian and had participated in excavations with Max Ohnefalsh-Richter at Salamis and elsewhere. He donated some antiquities to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

between the years 1880 and 1898, his personal collection of about 200 artefacts is currently in the

Royal Albert Memorial Museum Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is a museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, the largest in the city. It holds significant and diverse collections in areas such as zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and overseas archaeolo ...

in Exeter. He was one of the founding members of the Committee of the Cyprus Museum established in 1882. He is noted for his published works on Cypriot history, especially ''Excerpta Cypria'', were he translated into English from 12 different languages excerpts pertaining Cyprus from various writers, starting from

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and ending with Gervinus. Additionally he published the book ''An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus'', with a compilation of bibliography that also included sections on numismatics, epigraphy, language, cartography, consular reports etc. Furthermore his book ''A Handbook of Cyprus'' with J. T. Hutchinson focused on the geological and geographical characteristics of the island, as well as agriculture, commerce, industry, irrigation works, forests, fisheries, harbours, finance, government and other information.

Publications

* Cobham, C. D. & Ohnefalsch Richter, M. (1883)
A Pre-Historic Building at Salamis
''The Journal of Hellenic Studies,'' 4, 111–116. * Cobham, C. D. (1895). '' Excerpta Cypria. Materials for a History of Cyprus''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Cobham, C. D. (1897)
The Story of Umm Ḥarám
''The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,'' 81–101. *Cobham, C. D. (1889). Cypriot Words in ancient Greek. ''The Journal of Cyprian Studies,'' 19–23. * Cobham, C. D. (1900). '' An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus''. Nicosia: Printed, for the Compiler, at the G.P.O.. 4th Ed. * Hutchinson, J. T. & Cobham, C. D. (1907). '' A Handbook of Cyprus''. London: Edward Stanford. 5th Ed. * Cobham, C. D. (1909). Travels in the Island of Cyprus. Translated from the Italian of Giovanni Mariti by Claude Delaval Cobham. With Contemporary Accounts to the Sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Cobham, C. D. (1911). '' The Patriarchs of Constantinople''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

External links

Cobham's collection of Cypriot antiquities
in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.
Cobham's collection of Cypriot antiquities
in the British Museum.
Ephemera of Claude Delaval Cobham
in the University College, Oxford. 1842 births 1915 deaths British colonial officials Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-mil-bio-stub

Publications

See also

References

External links