Elias John Wilkinson Gibb (3 June 1857 - 5 December 1901) was a Scottish orientalist. Gibb was born 3 June 1857 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, at 25 Newton Place, to Elias John Gibb and Jane Gilman. He was educated by Collier and matriculated from Glasgow University in 1873. Gibb acquired a knowledge of Arabic and Persian languages, and became especially interested in Turkish language and literature. Gibb married and moved to London in 1899. He made a few visits to Europe, but never visited the regions that he studied. He did, however, come to be viewed as a sympathetic and talented orientalist, with an excellent library, and was acquainted with Muslim poets and scholars. His series of volumes on

Ottoman poetry The poetry of the Ottoman Empire, or Ottoman ''Divan'' poetry, is little known outside modern Turkey, which forms the heartland of what was once the Ottoman Empire. It is, however, a rich and ancient poetic tradition that lasted for nearly 700 y ...

is especially noteworthy. He died 5 December 1901 aged 44 at his residence in

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from

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, and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

. His library was acquired by

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, 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 ...

, and the British embassy at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. His name is commemorated in the long running "

Gibb Memorial Series The "E. J. W. Gibb Memorial" Series (abbreviation: GMS) is an orientalist book series with important works of Persian, Turkish and Arab history, literature, philosophy and religion, including many works in English translation. Some works were inc ...

" of publications, primarily devoted to the translation of Turkish, Persian and Arabic texts, funded by the trust established by Jane Gibb (d. 1904), the author's mother.Gibb Memorial Series
''Encyclopædia Iranica''

Works

*The History of the Forty Vezirs or the story of the forty morns and eves ( yrq wezīr ḥikājesi). Written in Turkish by Sheykh-Zāda [Šaiḫzāda Done into English by E(lias) J(ohn) W(ilkinson) Gibb / Šaiḫzāda. London 1886 *Ottoman poems. Translated into English in The original forms. With introduction, biographical notices, and notes. London, Glasgow 1882 * A history of Ottoman poetry. 6 Bde. London 1900-1909 (Nachdruck London 1958-67, Vol. 2-6 edited by Edward Granville Browne *Ottoman Literature; The Poets and Poetry of Turkey, Translated from the Arabic with Introduction and Biographical Notes by E. J. W. Gibb, with Arabian, Persian, and Hebrew Poems, and a Special Introduction by Theodore P. Ion, New York 1901

References

Gibb Memorial Trust

External links

* 1857 births 1901 deaths Scottish orientalists Scottish translators Arabic–English translators Persian–English translators Turkish–English translators Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery 19th-century British translators {{Scotland-translator-stub