George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, perhaps the leading authority in the first half of the twentieth century. He is the basis for the character of Adolphus Cusins in his friend

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's play ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'', and also appears as the chorus figure in

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse ...

's play '' Fram''. He served as President of the Ethical Union (now

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

) from 1929 to 1930 and was a delegate at the inaugural World Humanist Congress in 1952 which established

Humanists International Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Fou ...

. He was a leader of the

League of Nations Society The League of Nations Society was a political group devoted to campaigning for an international organisation of nations, with the aim of preventing war. The society was founded in 1915 by Baron Courtney and Willoughby Dickinson, both members of ...

and the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League o ...

, which promoted the League of Nations in Britain. Murray died in Oxford in 1957, aged 91. His ashes were interred in

Poets' Corner Poets' Corner is a section of the southern transept of Westminster Abbey in London, England, where many poets, playwrights, and writers are buried or commemorated. The first poet interred in Poets' Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400. Willia ...

, Westminster Abbey.

Early life

Murray was born in Sydney, Australia. He came from an Irish Catholic family and his ancestors fought at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

and in the

1798 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force ...

. His family all supported

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

and were critical of the British government's actions elsewhere in the Empire. His father, Sir

Terence Aubrey Murray Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (10 May 1810 – 22 June 1873) was an Irish-Australian pastoralist, parliamentarian and knight of the realm. He had the double distinction of being, at separate times, both the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislativ ...

, who died in 1873, had been a Member of the New South Wales Parliament; Gilbert's mother, Agnes Ann Murray (née Edwards), ran a girls' school in Sydney for a few years. Then, in 1877, Agnes emigrated with Gilbert to the UK, where she died in 1891. Murray was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, where he took his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1886 in Greats with first-class honours with congratulations. He distinguished himself in writing both Greek and Latin, winning the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose Composition, The Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse Composition, and the Chancellor’s Prize for Latin Composition.

Classicist

Academic career

From 1889 to 1899, Murray was Professor of Greek at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. There was a break in his academic career from 1899 to 1905, when he returned to Oxford; he interested himself in dramatic and political writing. After 1908 he was Regius Professor of Greek at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In the same year he invited

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literatur ...

to Oxford, where the Prussian philologist delivered two lectures: ''Greek Historical Writing'' and ''Apollo'' (later, he would replicate them in Cambridge). From 1925 to 1926, he was the Charles Eliot Norton Lecturer at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Greek drama

Murray is perhaps now best known for his verse translations of

Greek drama A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...

, which were popular and prominent in their time. As a poet he was generally taken to be a follower of

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

and had little sympathy from the modernist poets of the rising generation. The staging of Athenian drama in English did have its own cultural impact. He had earlier experimented with his own prose dramas, without much success. Over time he worked through almost the entire canon of Athenian dramas (

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

in tragedy;

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

in comedy). From

, the '' Hippolytus'' and ''

The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; , ''Bakkhai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumou ...

'' (together with ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

'' of

; first edition, 1902);First published in: ''The Athenian Drama, vol. III: Euripides'' (Euripides: Hippolytus; The Bacchae. Aristophanes: The Frogs. Translated into English rhyming verse), 1902 (); many reprints (together, separate, repackaged). the ''Medea'', ''Trojan Women'', and ''Electra'' (1905–1907); ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' (1910); ''The Rhesus'' (1913) were presented at the

Court Theatre A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

, in London. In the United States Granville Barker and his wife

Lillah McCarthy Lillah, Lady Keeble OBE (born Lila Emma McCarthy; 22 September 1875 – 15 April 1960) was an English people, English actress and Actor-manager, theatrical manager. Biography Lila Emma McCarty was born in Cheltenham on 22 September 1875, the s ...

gave outdoor performances of ''The Trojan Women'' and ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' at various colleges (1915). The translation of '' Œdipus Rex'' was a commission from

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

. Until 1912 this could not have been staged for a British audience, due to its depiction of

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

. Murray was drawn into the public debate on censorship that came to a head in 1907 and was pushed by William Archer, whom he knew well from Glasgow,

, and others such as

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. He is best known for his trilogy of novels collectively called '' The Forsyte Saga'', and two later trilogies, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of th ...

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

and

Edward Garnett Edward William Garnett (5 January 1868 – 19 February 1937) was an English writer, critic and literary editor, who was instrumental in the publication of D. H. Lawrence's '' Sons and Lovers''. Early life and family Edward Garnett was bor ...

. A petition was taken to Herbert Gladstone, then Home Secretary, early in 1908.

The Ritualists

He was one of the scholars associated with Jane Harrison in the myth-ritual school of

mythography Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. They met first in 1900. He wrote an appendix on the Orphic tablets for her 1903 book ''Prolegomena''; he later contributed to her ''Themis'' (1912).

Francis Fergusson Francis Fergusson (1904–1986) was an American teacher and critic, a theorist of drama and mythology who wrote ''The Idea of a Theater'', (Princeton, 1949) a book about drama. He contributed an introductory essay to S. H. Butcher’s 1961 transla ...

wrote

Ostracism

Murray's openly expressed pro-

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

and

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

views, combined with his failure to support the cause of retaining compulsory Greek, antagonised his colleagues at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, who were mostly

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and Unionist. In 1910, he recalled, only New College,

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

and Jesus College continued to send pupils to his lectures; the absence of undergraduates from Christ Church, to which his Chair was attached, was particularly noticeable.

In public life

Liberal Party politics

He was a lifelong supporter of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, lining up on the

and non-imperialist sides of the splits in the party of the late nineteenth century. He supported temperance, and married into a prominent Liberal, aristocratic and temperance family, the Carlisles. He made a number of moves that might have taken him into parliamentary politics, initially by tentative thoughts about standing in elections during the 1890s. In 1901-2 he was in close contact with the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

. But the overall effect of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

was to drive him back into the academic career he had put on hold in 1898, resigning his Glasgow chair (effective from April 1899). He stood five times unsuccessfully for the University of Oxford constituency between 1919 and 1929. He continued support for the Asquith faction of Liberals, after the party was split again by

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. During the 1930s the Liberals as a party were crushed electorally, but Liberal thinkers continued to write; Murray was one of the signatory ''Next Five Years Group'' formed around

Clifford Allen Clifford Robertson Allen (January 6, 1912 – June 18, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1949 to 1951, and again from 1955 to 1959. He was el ...

Activist

As Regius Professor and literary figure, he had a platform to promote his views, which were many-sided but Whig-liberal. In 1912 he wrote an introduction to ''The Great Analysis: A Plea for a Rational World-Order'', by his friend William Archer. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he became a pamphleteer, putting a reasoned war case. He also defended C. K. Ogden against criticism, and took a public interest in

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

. Murray never took a pacifist line himself, broke an old friendship with

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

early in the war, and supported British intervention in the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. He was also involved as an internationalist in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He was a vice-president of the

from 1916, and in 1917 wrote influential articles in '' The Daily News''. At the invitation of

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

he acted in 1921/2 as a League delegate for South Africa. He was an influential member of the

International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation The International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, sometimes League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, is an advisory organisation for the League of Nations which promotes international exchange between scientists, researche ...

of the League from 1922 to 1939, being its president from 1928 to 1939. Later he was a major influence in the setting-up of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

and of the Students' International Union (later the

Institute of World Affairs The Institute of World Affairs (IWA) was founded 1924 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Maude Miner Hadden and Alexander Mectier Hadden. The IWA started at the Student's International Union (SIU) in Geneva. The SIU had been established at the League of N ...

Involvement with Wells

For a brief period Murray became closely involved with the novelist

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

. Initially this was in 1917 and connection with groups supporting a future League: Wells promoted a ''League of Free Nations Association'' (LFNA), an idea not in fact exclusive to him, since it had been 'up in the air' since

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

had started considering post-war settlements. Wells applied through the British propaganda office with which Murray had been connected since 1914. The two men corresponded from 1917 about League matters. Wells was bullish about pushing ahead with a British LFNA, Murray was involved already in the League of Nations Society (LNS), though not active. The political position was delicate, as Murray understood and Wells may not have: the LNS overlapped with the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

, which was too far towards the pacifist end of the spectrum of opinion to be effective in that time and context. Eventually in 1918 the LFNA was set up around Welsh Liberal MP David Davies, and then shortly the LFNA and LNS merged as the

. Two years later, Wells called on Murray, and Murray's New College colleague

Ernest Barker Sir Ernest Barker (23 September 1874 – 17 February 1960) was an English political scientist who served as Principal of King's College London from 1920 to 1927. Life and career Ernest Barker was born in Woodley, Cheshire, and educated at Ma ...

, to lend their names as advisers on his ''

The Outline of History ''The Outline of History'', subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a work by H. G. Wells chronicling the history of the world from the origin of the Earth to the First World War. It appeare ...

''. Their names duly appeared on the title page. Murray had to give evidence in the

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

case ''Deeks'' v. ''Wells'' that arose in 1925.

Psychical research

Murray held a deep interest in

psychical research Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those r ...

. Between 1916 and 1924, he conducted 236 experiments into

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

and reported 36% as successful, although it was suggested that the results could be explained by

hyperaesthesia Hyperesthesia is a condition that involves an abnormal increase in sensitivity to stimuli of the senses. Stimuli of the senses can include sound that one hears, foods that one tastes, textures that one feels, and so forth. Increased touch sensit ...

as he could hear what was being said by the sender. Murray was the President of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

in 1915–1916 and 1952.

Humanism

Murray identified as a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

, and even served as a President of the British Ethical Union (later known as the British Humanist Association). He joined the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

, and in 1952 was a delegate to the inaugural World Humanist Congress which founded

. He wrote and broadcast extensively on religion (Greek, Stoic and Christian); and wrote several books dealing with his version of humanism, which he espoused as a naturalistic philosophy, contrasted with Christianity and revealed religion in general. He was President of the British Ethical Union (now

) from 1929 to 1930. A phrase from his 1910 lectures ''Four Stages of Greek Religion'' enjoyed public prominence: the "failure of nerve" of the

Hellenistic world In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...

, of which a turn to irrationalism was symptomatic. Murray was baptised as a Roman Catholic; his father was a Catholic, his mother a Protestant. His daughter Rosalind (later Rosalind Toynbee), a Catholic convert, attacked his atheism in her book of apologetics, ''The Good Pagan's Failure'' (1939). About a month before he died, when he was bedridden, his daughter Rosalind called the local Catholic priest to see him. In an article in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' following his death, however, his son Stephen made clear that Rosalind and Catholic friends did "not want it thought that they claim he died a Roman Catholic". Stephen said that his sister 'would not dream of making a public claim that he would re-enter the Church.' Murray did not raise his own children to be religious. His great-granddaughter,

Polly Toynbee Mary Louisa "Polly" Toynbee (; born 27 December 1946) is a British journalist and writer. She has been a columnist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and was a candidate for the Social Democratic Party in the 19 ...

, followed in his footsteps, becoming President of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Awards and honours

He refused a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1912, though he was appointed to the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

in 1941. He received honorary degrees from Glasgow, Birmingham, and Oxford. He gave the 1914 Shakespeare Lecture of the British Academy. He gave the 1941 Andrew Lang Lecture. Minor planet 941 Murray is named after him, for his support of Austria after

Family

Murray's father was Sir Terence Aubrey Murray and his brother Sir

Hubert Murray Sir John Hubert Plunkett Murray (29 December 1861 – 27 February 1940) was a judge and Lieutenant-Governor of Papua from 1908 until his death at Samarai. Early life Murray was born in Sydney, the son of Irish-born Terence Aubrey Murray (18 ...

. Murray's mother, Agnes Ann Murray (née Edwards), was a cousin of the dramatist

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

. Murray married Lady Mary Henrietta Howard (1865–1956), daughter of

George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle George James Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle (12 August 184316 April 1911), known as George Howard until 1889, was an English aristocrat, peer, politician, and painter. He was the last Earl of Carlisle to own Castle Howard. Early life Howard wa ...

. When her mother Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle died in 1921,

Castle Howard Castle Howard is an English country house in Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, north of York. A private residence, it has been the home of the Earl of Carlisle, Carlisle branch of the House of Howard, Howard family for more than 300 years. Castle ...

was left to Lady Mary. However, she passed it on to her surviving brother Geoffrey, (his son was George Howard, chairman of the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

from 1981 until 1983) retaining an estate in Cumberland with an income of c. £5,000 per annum. Gilbert and Lady Mary had five children, two daughters (Rosalind, 1890–1967 and Agnes Elizabeth 1894–1922) and three sons (Denis, Basil, and Stephen) including: * Rosalind Murray (1890–1967), writer, married

Arnold J. Toynbee Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Coll ...

, and was the mother of **

Philip Toynbee Theodore Philip Toynbee (25 June 1916 – 15 June 1981) was a British writer and communist. He wrote experimental novels, and distinctive verse novels, one of which was an epic called ''Pantaloon'', a work in several volumes, only some of whi ...

, critic, father of ***

, journalist. * Denis George Murray (also known as Denys, 1892-1930). Attended Oxford. Joined Vickers Ltd in 1912. Granted Royal Aero Club pilot's certificate No.750 in a Caudron biplane at The Ewen School, Hendon on 11 March 1914. Joined the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

on 5 August 1914 as a Flight Lieutenant. Mentioned in Dispatches for his work in the bombing of Ostend, Zeebrugge and Bruges in February 1915 but was shot down near to the Dutch coast, suffering burns, and interned at Groningen, the Netherlands. He was released due to periodontitis in 1917. Although he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1919 and worked in the

Air Historical Branch The Air Historical Branch (AHB) is the historical archive and records service of the Royal Air Force. First established in 1919, the AHB was responsible for creating the ''Official History of British Air Operations in the First World War''. The ...

researching for

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

's official air history, he never fully recovered and died suddenly in March 1930. He married in December 1918 Phyllis Evelyn Keller (1888–1977). * Agnes Elizabeth Murray (1894–1922). Attended

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

, but gave up her studies to spend two years nursing before serving as an RAF dispatch rider and as an ambulance driver for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps. She died of peritonitis in France. * Basil Murray, 1903–1937, who was a well-known and rather ''louche'' figure, and friend of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

. His wife, Pauline, was a daughter of the artist Algernon Newton RA, and a sister of actor

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

. ** The writer Venetia Murray (3 January 1932 – 26 September 2004) was Basil's daughter, as was **

Ann Paludan Ann Elizabeth Paludan (née Murray; 1928–30 October 2014) was a British author of several books on Chinese history, sculpture and architecture. Biography Ann Paludan was one of two daughters of Pauline Mary ( Newton) and Basil Murray. Her ...

(1928–2014), writer on Chinese history. *** Mark Jones, former director of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, is Ann's son and Elizabeth Murray, a doctor and medical researcher at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, was her daughter. *

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

(February 1908 – July 1994), radical lawyer, married the architect Margaret Gillet. Stephen gave up law and became a farmer and lived at "Greenside" farm, Hallbankgate, Cumbria. He was chairman of

Border Rural District {{coord, 54.895, -2.934, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Border was a rural district of Cumberland, England from 1934 to 1974. It was formed by a County Review Order in 1934, by a merger of Longtown Rural District, most of Brampton Rural ...

Council (1962–66), of Cumberland County Council, of the Lake District Special Planning Board (1977–81) and of

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council was the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it was an elected local government body re ...

(1985–87). They were parents of ** Gilbert, killed in climbing accident on the

Fox Glacier Fox Glacier (; officially Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe) is a temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Like nearby Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of th ...

in New Zealand in the 1950s ** Alexander (Sandy), academic medievalist historian at Oxford University **

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

(Robin), academic, economist, chair of Twin Trading ** Hubert, architect, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Works

Translations

* A text edition of Euripides, ''Fabulae'', in three volumes (1901, 1904, 1910) * Euripides, '' Hippolytus'' (1902) * Euripides, ''

'' (1902) * Aristophanes, ''

'' (1902) * Euripides, ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece, Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' ...

'' (1905) * Euripides, ''

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

'' (1905) * Euripides, ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'' (1910) * Euripides, ''

Iphigenia in Tauris ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' (, ''Iphigeneia en Taurois'') is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, ''Helen (play), Helen'', as well as the lost play ''Andromed ...

'' (1911) * Sophocles, '' Oedipus King of Thebes'' (1911) *
The Story of Nefrekepta: From a Demotic Papyrus
' (1911) * Euripides, '' Rhesus'' (1913) * Euripides, ''

Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...

'' (1915) * Aeschylus, ''

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

'' (1920) * Aeschylus, '' Choephoroe'' (1923) * Aeschylus, '' Eumenides of Aeschylus'' (1926) * Aeschylus, ''

The Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of ...

'' (1928) * Aeschylus, '' The Suppliant Women'' (1930) * Aeschylus
''Prometheus Bound, Translated into English Rhyming Verse''
(London: Allen & Unwin, 1931) * Aeschylus, ''

Seven Against Thebes ''Seven Against Thebes'' (, ''Hepta epi Thēbas''; ) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the ''Oedipodea''. It concerns the battle between an Argive army, led by ...

'' (1935) * A text edition of Aeschylus, ''Septem quae supersunt Tragoediae'' (1937, 1955) * Aeschylus, ''

The Persians ''The Persians'' (, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and only surviving part of a now otherwise lost trilog ...

'' (1939) * Sophocles, ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'' (1941) * ''The Rape of the Locks: The Perikeiromene of Menander'' (1942) * ''Fifteen Greek Plays'' (1943) with others * ''The Arbitration: the Epitrepontes of Menander'' (1945) * Sophocles, '' The Wife of Heracles'' (1947) * Sophocles, ''

Oedipus at Colonus ''Oedipus at Colonus'' (also ''Oedipus Coloneus''; , ''Oidipous epi Kolōnō'') is the second of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles's death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson ...

'' (1948) * Aristophanes, '' The Birds'' (1950) * Euripides, ''

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

'' (1954) * ''Collected Plays of Euripides'' (1954) * Aristophanes, ''

The Knights ''The Knights'' ( ''Hippeîs''; Attic: ) was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, who is considered the master of Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War, and in thi ...

'' (1956)

Classical studies

* ''The Place of Greek in Education'' (1889) Inaugural Lecture
''A History of Ancient Greek Literature''
(1897)
''The Rise of the Greek Epic''
(1907
''third edition''
(1924) Harvard University lectures
''Greek Historical Writing, and Apollo: Two Lectures''
(1908) with

''The Interpretation of Ancient Greek Literature''
(1909) Inaugural Lecture * ''Ancient Greek Literature'' (1911)
''English Literature and the Classics''
(1912) section on Tragedy, editor George Stuart Gordon
''Four Stages of Greek Religion''
(1913) * (1913) in the Home University Library
''Hamlet and Orestes: A Study in Traditional Types''
(1914) Annual Shakespeare Lecture 1914
''The Stoic Philosophy''
(1915) Conway Lecture
''Aristophanes and the War Party, A Study in the Contemporary Criticism of the Peloponnesian War''
(1919) Creighton Lecture 1918, as ''Our Great War and The Great War of the Ancient Greeks'' (US, 1920)
and Addresses''
(London: Allen & Unwin, 1921) (includes his 1920 essay "

Poiesis In continental philosophy and semiotics, ''poiesis'' (; from ) is the process of emergence of something that did not previously exist. Forms of poiesis—including autopoiesis, the process of sustenance through the emergence of sustaining parts� ...

and

mimesis Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including '' imitatio'', imitation, similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of ...

", pp
107–124
* ''Greek Historical Thought: from Homer to the Age of Heraclius'' (1924) with Arnold J. Toynbee
''Five Stages of Greek Religion''
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925);
London: Watts, 1935
edition) * ''The Classical Tradition in Poetry'' (London: Milford, 1927) Charles Eliot Norton Lectures * ''Aristophanes: A Study'' (1933) * ''Aeschylus: The Creator of Tragedy'' (1940)
Studies''
(Oxford: University Press, 1946) * ''Hellenism and the Modern World'' (1953) radio talks ;

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: * ''Greek Poetry and Life, Essays presented to Gilbert Murray on his Seventieth Birthday, 2 January 1936'' (1936)

Other

* ''Gobi or Shamo'' novel (1889)
1890 3rd edition

''Carlyon Sahib''
a drama in Four Acts (1899)
''Liberalism and the Empire: Three Essays''
with Francis W. Hirst and

John L. Hammond John Lawrence Le Breton Hammond (18 July 1872 – 7 April 1949) was a British journalist and writer on social history and politics. A number of his best-known works were jointly written with his wife, Barbara Hammond (née Bradby, 1873–1961). ...

(1900) * ''Andromache (play)'' (UK 1900, US 1913) * Annual Shakespeare Lecture of the British Academy (1914)
''Thoughts on the War''
pamphlet (1914)
''The Foreign Policy of Sir Edward Grey, 1906–1915''online text
(1915)
''Ethical Problems of the War''
an address (1915)
''Herd Instinct and the War''
A Lecture reprinted in ''The International Crisis in Its Ethical and Psychological Aspects'' (1915)
''How can war ever be right?''
Oxford Pamphlets No 18/''Ist Krieg je berechtigt?''/''La guerre. Peut-elle jamais se justifier?'' (1915) * ''Impressions of Scandinavia in War Time'' (1916) pamphlet, reprint from ''

The Westminster Gazette ''The Westminster Gazette'' was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Margaret ...

''
''The United States and the War''
pamphlet (1916)
''The Way Forward: Three Articles on Liberal Policy''
pamphlet (1917)
''Great Britain's Sea Policy – A Reply to an American Critic''
pamphlet, reprinted from ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'' (1917)
''Faith, War and Policy''
(1917) * '' The League of Nations and the Democratic Idea'' (1918) * ''Religio Grammatici: The Religion Of A Man Of Letters'' Presidential Address to the Classical Association 8 January 1918 (1918) * Foreword t
''My Mission to London 1912–1914''
by Prince Lichnowsky, the German ambassador in London who had warned Berlin that Britain would fight in August 1914. Cassel & Co. London. (1918) * Wells, Herbert George, Lionel Curtis, William Archer, Henry Wickham Steed, Alfred Zimmern, John Alfred Spender, James Bryce Bryce, and Gilbert Murray. ''The Idea of a League of Nations'' (Boston, The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1919). * ''Satanism and the World Order'' Adamson Lecture (1920)
''The League of Nations and its Guarantees''
League of Nations Union pamphlet (1920)
''Essays and Addresses''
(1921)
''The Problem of Foreign Policy: A Consideration of Present Dangers and the Best Methods for Meeting Them''
(1921)
''Tradition and Progress''
(1922) * ''The Ordeal of This Generation: The War, the League and the Future'' Halley Stewart Lectures 1928 (1930) * ''Augustan Book of Poetry'' volume 41 (1931) * ''The Intelligent Man's Way To Prevent War'' with others (1933) * ''Problems of Peace (Eighth Series)'' with others (1933) * ''Then and Now'' (1935) * ''Liberality and Civilisation'' 1937 Hibbert Lectures (1938) * ''Stoic, Christian and Humanist'' (1940) * ''The Deeper Causes of the War and its Issues'' with others (1940) * ''World Order Papers, No. 2'' (1940) pamphlet, The Royal Institute of International Affairs * ''Anchor of Civilisation'' Philip Maurice Deneke Lecture (1942) * ''A Conversation with Bryce'' James Bryce Memorial Lecture (1943) * ''Myths and Ethics, or Humanism and the World's Need'' Conway Hall lecture (1944) * ''Humanism: Three BBC talks'' with

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

and Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1944) * ''Victory and After'' (1945) * ''From the League to the U.N.'' (1948) * ''Spires of Liberty''with others (1948) * ''Andrew Lang: The Poet''

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

Lecture 1947 (1948) * ''The Meaning of Freedom'' essays, with others (1956) * ''Humanist Essays'' taken from ''Essays and Addresses'', ''Stoic, Christian and Humanist'' (1964)

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Gilbert 1866 births 1957 deaths English classical scholars English essayists English translators English dramatists and playwrights Scholars of ancient Greek literature Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Harvard University faculty British parapsychologists People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Pamphleteers Academics from Sydney Australian members of the Order of Merit Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Regius Professors of Greek (University of Oxford) Telepaths People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society Classical scholars of the University of Glasgow British male essayists English male dramatists and playwrights Translators of Ancient Greek texts Fellows of the British Academy Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of English descent English people of Irish descent English male non-fiction writers Presidents of the Classical Association Murray family