George Finlay

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George Finlay (born December 21, 1799 in Faversham , Kent , † January 26, 1875 in Athens ) was a British historian and philhellene .

Early years

Finlay was born to Scottish parents in Kent, where his father, an Army officer, was an inspector of the powder mills . He studied law at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and in 1821 went to the University of Göttingen .

He was enthusiastic about the Greek struggle for independence from an early age . In 1823 he decided to visit Greece. He arrived in Kefalonia in November , where he was warmly received by Lord Byron . During the next fourteen months he improved his knowledge of the language and history of the country. A heavy fever induced him to spend the winter of 1824–1825 and the following spring in Rome, Naples and Sicily. He then returned to Scotland, spending a summer at Castle Toward, Argyllshire , before taking his civil law exams at Edinburgh University with the intention of obtaining the Scottish bar exam. His enthusiasm for the Greek cause, however, led him back to Greece, where he stayed almost uninterrupted until his death.

Participation in the Greek War of Liberation

Finlay became a good friend of Frank Abney Hastings and spent many months at sea observing firsthand the progress of the war. He also participated in the unsuccessful operations of Lord Cochrane and Richard Church to liberate Athens in 1827.

Literary work

Finlay's house in Athens ( Plaka )

After the war, his efforts to develop the country - arguably because of its ties to former leaders of the revolution who had fallen out of favor with the new royalist leadership - received little echo. He initially bought an estate in Attica , but failed in his efforts to introduce a better system of agriculture. He moved into a property on Adrianou Street in Athens (in the area now known as Plaka ) and devoted himself to literary work for the rest of his life.

His first publications were The Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation ( The Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation , 1836); Essai sur les principes de banque appliques a l'etat actuel de la Grèce ( Essay on the principles of banking in relation to the current situation in Greece , Athens 1836); and Remarks on the Topography of Oropia and Diacria, with a map ( Notes on the topography of Oropia and Diacria, with a map , Athens 1838).

His lasting legacy is his work A History of Greece , which he published in seven volumes. Volume I ( Greece under the Romans ) he completed in 1843, Volume II ( History of the Byzantine Empire From VCCXVI to MLVII ) in 1852. History of Greece under Othoman and Venetian domination followed in 1856, and History of the Greek revolution in 1861 .

In the meantime he had made further trips to different parts of the Levant , as a result of which he published a book on the site of the Holy Sepulcher with a map of Jerusalem (1847).

In poor health, he spent his last years revising his history. From 1864 to 1870 he was also a correspondent for The Times newspaper ; the reports he published there also appeared in Greek newspapers and had an influence on Greek politics. He also wrote for the Saturday Review and Athenaeum .

Finlay was a member of several scientific societies . In 1854 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Edinburgh .

Fonts

  • Greece under the Romans: a historical view of the condition of the Greek Nation. ( books.google.com ).
  • History of the Byzantine Empire From VCCXVI to MLVII. ( books.google.com ).
  • History of Greece From its Conquest by the Crusaders to its Conquest by the Turks. Edinburgh 1861 ( books.google.com ).
  • George Finlay: History of Greece under Othoman and Venetian domination. ( books.google.com ).
  • History of the Greek revolution. Volume I ( archive.org ).
  • History of the Greek revolution. Volume II ( books.google.com ).
  • The Hellenic kingdom and the Greek nation. 1837 ( books.google.com ).

literature

Web links

  • Finlay in "Who's Who in Faversham" (English, with picture)
  • George Finlay on the Frank Hastings website

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b George Finlay: Greece Under the Romans . EP Dutton & co, 1907, pp. viii ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive - Introduction).
personal data
SURNAME Finlay, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British historian and philhellene
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1799
PLACE OF BIRTH Faversham , Kent
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1875
Place of death Athens