Adapted from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by G.J. Roper, with relevance to the contents of this collection: Between 1845 and 1862 George Percy Badger was a chaplain in the diocese of Bombay [now Mumbai], serving mostly in Aden, where from 1854 he played a key role in British dealings with the local population. In 1856-7 he accompanied the campaign of General Sir James Outram in Persia [now Iran], and in 1860 he served on the commission sent to Oman, which brought about the secession of Zanzibar. In 1861–2 he visited Egypt for Outram, and conducted a survey of military installations and of the Suez Canal works. Two more diplomatic missions took Badger to Zanzibar, in 1872 and 1878. From 1862 onwards, he devoted his life to scholarship and in 1881 published his major work, the English-Arabic Lexicon.