George Finlay
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George Finlay (21 December 1799 – 26 January 1875) was a Scottish historian.


Biography

Finlay was born in
Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
, was inspector of government
powder mill A powder mill was a mill where gunpowder is made from sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal. Milling steps Crude grinding and mixing operations such as the Frankford Powder-Mill of Philadelphia were a cottage industry until the industrial revolution ...
s. Finlay's father died in 1802, and his Scottish mother and uncle (
Kirkman Finlay Kirkman Finlay (April 1773 – 4 March 1842) was one of the leading merchants in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Lord Provost of Glasgow and Member of Parliament. Life Kirkman Finlay was born in the Gallowgate, the second son of well known Glasgow me ...
) took hand of his education. His love of history was attributed to his mother. Intended for the law, he was educated at the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
, the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, but becoming an enthusiast in the cause of
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, in 1823 he joined
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
in the
war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
. Thereafter he bought a property near
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, where he settled and busied himself with schemes for the improvement of the country, which met with little success. Although he formed an unfavourable opinion of the Greek leaders, both civil and military, he did not lose his enthusiasm for their cause. A severe attack of fever, combined with other circumstances, induced him to spend the winter of 1824–1825 and the spring of 1825 in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. He then returned to Scotland, and, after spending a summer at Castle Toward, Argyllshire, went to
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, where he passed his examination in civil law at the university, with a view to being called to the
Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...
. However, his enthusiasm for Greece took him back there for good. He took part in the unsuccessful operations of Lord Cochrane and
Sir Richard Church Sir Richard Church (; 23 February 1784 – 20 March 1873)For the date of death see relevant Section of the article explaining the discrepancy of sources was a military officer in the British Army and commander of the Greek forces during the ...
for the attempted relief of Athens in 1827. When independence had been secured in 1829 he bought a landed estate in
Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
, but all his efforts for the introduction of a better system of agriculture ended in failure, and he devoted himself to the literary work which occupied the rest of his life, and for many years, he acted as the special correspondent of the London ''Times''. Finlay was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1838,American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> and in 1854 he received from the university of Edinburgh the honorary degree of
LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
. He died in Athens. His ''
History of Greece The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied thro ...
'', produced in sections between 1843 and 1861, did not at first receive the recognition which its merits deserved, but it has since been given by scholars in all countries, and specially in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, a place among works of permanent value, alike for its literary style and the depth and insight of its historical views. It was re-issued in 1877 as ''
A History of Greece from the Roman Conquest to the Present Time A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' (146 BC to 1864). Confusion arising from a work of
Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
on the life of Byron which refers to his uncle by full name but Finlay only by surname, lead to some of his exploits being ascribed to a putative brother
Kirkman Finlay Kirkman Finlay (April 1773 – 4 March 1842) was one of the leading merchants in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Lord Provost of Glasgow and Member of Parliament. Life Kirkman Finlay was born in the Gallowgate, the second son of well known Glasgow me ...
.


Works

* ''History of the Byzantine Empire from 716 to 1057''

* ''History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 1057 to 1453''

* ''A History of Greece (From Its Conquest by the Romans to the Present Time, B.C. 146 to A.D. 1864)'' ** ''Greece under the Romans''
online
** ''From Its Conquest by the Crusaders to Its Conquest by the Turks (1204–1461)''
online
** Vol V: ''Greece under Othoman and Venetian domination''
online
** ''History of the Greek Revolution ''
Vol I
an
Vol II


Notes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, George 1799 births 1875 deaths 19th-century Scottish historians People from Faversham British philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Historians of antiquity Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh University of Göttingen alumni British expatriates in Greece Members of the American Antiquarian Society The Times people Scholars of Byzantine history