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Browne, Edward Granville, 1862-1926 (scholar)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1862 - 1926

Biography

Edward Granville Browne (1862-1926) was born in Gloucestershire the eldest of nine children and educated at preparatory schools and, for less than a year, at Eton, which he left in 1876 shortly after he turned 15. He then attended Newcastle College of Physical Sciences and Pembroke College Cambridge.

During his time in Newcastle Browne began studying Turkish, his interest piqued by news reports of the ongoing Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). While at Cambridge he studied Persian and Arabic alongside the natural sciences tripos, which he passed in 1882. After spending the summer in Constantinople he returned to Cambridge and completed the Indian languages tripos in two years. Browne then resumed his medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London and gained his MB in 1887. While in London he would regularly converse with Persians and consult Persian texts in the British Museum. It was during this period that Browne first became aware of Mirza Ali Muhammad, the Bab, founder of the Bábi Faith, the story of which as described by Count Gobineau fascinated him.

After being elected a fellow of Pembroke College, Browne was able to spend a year in Persia, visiting Tehran, Tabriz, Esfahan, Shiraz, Yazd and Kerman. He actively sought out the company of mystics, dervishes, Kalandars and Bábis. Upon his return, Browne published two translations of Bábi histories, A Travellers Narrative, Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab (1891), and The New History of Mirza ‘Ali Muhammad, the Báb, Translated from the Persian (1893), adding long and detailed introductions and explanatory notes to both volumes. 1892 also saw Browne publish his travel memoir A Year Amongst the Persians, which, although underappreciated during his lifetime, gained classic status after his death, offering as it does one of the earliest European eyewitness accounts of Persian life and society. As well as being a highly gifted linguist, Browne had an exceptional memory, being able to recall long after the event whole conversations in exact detail, which adds to the atmosphere and authenticity of the work. Browne portrayed the Persians non-judgementally and in detail, offering personal and honest accounts of their habits and customs, some of which may have been shocking to his audience, for example he offers a frank account of the effects of opium.

Browne next began to focus his attention on the study of Persian literature and he published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society details of his new approach for the subject. Browne pushed for the publication of scholarly editions of classical Persian texts, tazkirehs (biographical dictionaries) first, then moving on to unpublished divans and histories. These became the kernel of his seminal A Literary History of Persia, which was published in four volumes in 1902, 1906, 1920 and 1924. It is considered a supreme work of scholarship which redefined the field of Persian literary and historical scholarship, and is still regarded as a standard authority in the field.

Browne delivered the FitzPatrick lectures in 1919 and 1920 at the Royal College of Physicians. These were published as Arabian Medicine in 1921 and show Browne combining both his areas of expertise. Browne was also responsible for cataloguing the Islamic manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library as well as those held by some of the Cambridge college libraries, and two collections held at the India Office Library.

Browne’s friend Elias John Wilkinson Gibb died in 1901, having only published one volume (of six planned) of his A History of Ottoman Poetry. Browne took it upon himself to edit and prepare the remaining five volumes for publication, this included verifying and identifying the original Turkish versions of many of the poems which appear in translation. Gibb’s mother, Jane, bequeathed a fund to be used for the publication of texts and translations of Turkish, Arabic and Persian books. Browne became a central figure in the E.J.W.Gibb memorial fund, and by the time of Browne’s death the fund had been responsible for publishing twenty-nine titles in over forty-four volumes. Because of his central role in this enterprise Browne was able to forge strong working relationships with nearly all the leading European orientalists of the time.

For much of his life Browne was very politically engaged, naturally with a focus on Middle Eastern and especially Persian affairs. After the breakout of the Persian revolution in 1906 Browne was one of the key figures in the formation of the Persia Committee along with socialist and radical Liberal MPs, fellow academics, journalists and writers. He campaigned between 1908-1914 in support of Persian constitutionalists; against the official British foreign policy of acquiescence to Russian influence and activities in Persia, and against the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907. However his campaigning was unsuccessful, and with the outbreak of World War One Browne effectively ceased all political activity. However he did publish two major works at this time, A History of the Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 (1910), and The Press and Poetry of Modern Persia (1914).

Browne was to a large extent responsible for the creation of a school of living oriental languages in Cambridge, and trained many probationers for the Egyptian, Sudanese and Levantine civil and consular services. His teaching was highly regarded, as was his generosity toward impoverished students, war victims and refugees. Browne was awarded the Persian order of the Lion and Sun in 1900, made a fellow of the British Academy in 1903 and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1911.

Browne died on the 5th of January 1926 and is buried in Elswich cemetery, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Found in 14 Collections and/or Records:

 Fonds

Alfred Rogers: Letter to E.G. Browne, 1906

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/1194
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1906
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

Andrew Ryan: Letter to E.G. Browne, 1922

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/1205
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1922
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

Browne: the papers of Edward Granville Browne

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/1058/BRO
Scope and Contents

The collection consists principally of Browne's Persian Journals, with additional manuscript material relating to his publication of Lubábu ʼl-albáb of Muḥammad ʻAwfí. There are also some of his printed publications and posthumous tributes.

Dates: 1884 - 1962
 Series

Correspondence of E.G. Browne and Sir E.D. Ross, 20th February 1891-15th July 1925

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7605/1
Scope and Contents 158 Letters from E.G. Browne to Sir E.D. Ross. Unless noted otherwise, the letters are in English from Browne's residence at Pembroke College or Firwood in Cambridge. The letters indicate a close friendship between the two men, who had many scholarly interests in common. Browne often makes arrangements to meet up with Ross in London or Cambridge, and he discusses aspects of his work and recommends potential translators/lecturers to him. Some letters are entirely in Persian, others contain...
Dates: 20th February 1891-15th July 1925
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

Correspondence of E.G. Browne and Sir E.D. Ross

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7605
Scope and Contents Edward Granville Browne was a noted scholar and Fellow of Pembroke, with a deep knowledge of the languages, history and culture of the Middle East. Apart from the many books and articles which bore his name, Browne also undertook as a labour of love the wearisome task of cataloguing the Islamic manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library and some of the college libraries, as well as two smaller collections at the India Office Library. He was also responsible for the publication of many...
Dates: 20th February 1891-15th July 1925
Conditions Governing Access: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Correspondence to Francis J.H. Jenkinson, 8 July 1910-4 Dec. 1919

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8781/295-311
Dates: 8 July 1910-4 Dec. 1919
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 File

Correspondence to Jenkinson, 16 Oct. 1904-12 Sep. 1909

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8781/238-289
Dates: 16 Oct. 1904-12 Sep. 1909
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

E.G. Browne: correspondence.

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7604
Scope and Contents

Letters to E.G. Browne from various correspondents.

Dates: 1910 - 1915
Conditions Governing Access: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

George Raffalovich: Correspondence to Mrs L. Drefhurst and E.G. Browne, 1914

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/1157-1158
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1914
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Letter from Agnes S. Lewis (1843-1926) to Edward G. Browne

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8781/337
Scope and Contents

Dinner invitation; with telegram from Browne, Athens

Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Letter from Edward G. Browne to E.B. Cowell, 25 Feb. 1888

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.6377/257
Dates: 25 Feb. 1888
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Letter from Edward G. Browne to E.B. Cowell, 2 Jan. 1894

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.6377/303
Dates: 2 Jan. 1894
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Letter from Edward G. Browne to E.B. Cowell, 21 Mar. 1894

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.6377/308
Dates: 21 Mar. 1894
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 File

Memorial to the Vice Chancellor, 16 June 1892

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.5944/36/3
Scope and Contents Signed by J.D. Duff, J.C. Saunders, A.T. Lyttelton, C.V. Stanford, J.W. Clark, G.W. Prothero, Arthur Tilley, F.W. Maitland, Alex. Hill, J.A. Ewing, W.J. Lewin, Arthur E. Shipley, E.S. Roberts, John B. Lock, William Raynes, W.L. Mollison, Henry Henn, W. Aldis Wright, W. Headlam, R.A. Neil, E.T.S. Carr, J.H. Middleton, W.E. Heitland, F. Pattrick, E.W. Thompson, S.G. Phear, R. Burn, W.S. Hadley, J. Hamblin Smith, W.M. Fawcett, Herbert E. Ryle, W.H. Macaulay, S.F. Harmer, Laurence Humphry, H.R....
Dates: 16 June 1892
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Additional filters:

ARCHON code (for CUL materials)
Archives and MSS Dept. (GBR/0012) 13
 
Type
Archival Object 11
Collection 3
 
Subject
Arab literature 1
Asian languages 1
Oriental literature 1
Persia (historic region) 1
Persian 1
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