Gore Ouseley

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Sir Gore Ouseley

Gore Ouseley with two distinguished orders
Born December 6, 1770(1770-12-06)
Monmouthshire, Wales
Died November 18, 1844 (aged 73)[1]
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Occupation Trader, Diplomat and Linguist
Spouse Harriet Georgina Whitelocke
Children Two sons, three daughters, inc. Frederick Ouseley
Parents Captain Ralph Ouseley[2]

Sir Gore Ouseley was an entrepreneur, linguist and diplomat. He was born in 1770 and died at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1844. He negotiated an important treaty between Russia and Persia in 1814 which redrew their common borders.

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[edit] India

Whilst serving the British Government and posted in Lucknow he became a friend of the local Nawab Saadat Ali Khan[citation needed] and was responsible for building a palace called Dilkusha Kothi on the banks of the Gomti near Lucknow. This palace stood for about fifty years until it was damaged in the Siege of Lucknow. The palace was a copy of the English Baroque stately home of Seaton Delaval Hall. He made his name in India where he was appointed a Major-Commander. He was made a baronet in 1808 with the recommendation of Lord Richard Wellesley.

[edit] Persia

He served as ambassador to Persia from 1810 where he was involved with negotiating treaties principally with Persia and Russia. He was accompanied by his brother as secretary, Sir William Ouseley[2], who like Gore was a keen orientalist. (He was the first ambassador to Persia since Sir Dodmore Cotton was sent by Charles I).[3] Nominally he was supporting the Shah of Persia (Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar). The most important was the The Treaty of Gulistan: Гюлистанский договор; Persian: عهدنامه گلستان) which was prepared by the ambassador with the help of the British Foreign Office. The treaty confirmed the inclusion of modern day Azerbaijan, Daghestan and Eastern Georgia into the Russian Empire[4]. This was agreed on October 24, 1813.

Banyan leaves and fruit - A watercolour from the collection of Gore Ouseley - now at Kew Gardens.
Banyan leaves and fruit - A watercolour from the collection of Gore Ouseley - now at Kew Gardens.[5]

[edit] Russia

After his brother returned to England in 1813 to write, he left the next year, stopping off in St Petersburg. Whilst he was in Russia he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Russian Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. He was also responsible for publishing an early translation of the New Testament into Persian. The translation had been made by a friend, the Reverend Henry Martyn, and Mirza Saiyad Ali Kahn. Martyn had died on his way back to England so Gore Ouseley had agreed to arrange publication of the manuscript. This he did in St Petersburg, carrying out the proof reading personally. This version was later refined and republished in Calcutta.[6]

[edit] England

On his return to England in 1815, Ouseley was not made a peer as he had expected (and despite a recommendation). He did however arrange for some gifts of antiquities to be given to the British Museum.

Ouseley had taught himself Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian, and for enjoyment, he and his brother William advanced the study of Persia. William published a number of books,[2] but those by Gore were not published until after his death.

In 1833, the family were living at Hall Barns, and he enjoyed gardening and building work as he had done in India.[7] In 1835, he served as the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

He became President of the Society for the Publication of the Oriental Texts in 1842 and he is credited with the society's publication of Gulistan of Sa'di by Sa'di, which had a translation by Francis Gladwin.[3]

There is a monument to his memory in Hertingfordbury Church, Hertfordshire and his collection of Mughal paintings are at the Bodleian Library in Oxford (they were donated in 1859 by a Bengal civil servant, Mr JB Elliott).[8]

His son, The Revd Canon Professor Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley (August 12, 1825 – April 6, 1889) was an English composer, organist, and musicologist.

[edit] Books

  • Biographical Notices of Persian Poets, 1846 (published 2 years after his death)

[edit] Honours

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gore-Ouseley at Iranica.com accessed 12 September 2007
  2. ^ a b c 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica - entry for Sir William Ouseley
  3. ^ a b Western Encounters with Persian Sufi Literature by Farhang Jahanpour accessed 12 September 2007
  4. ^ www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Iran/golestan.htm Treaty of Gulistan at - The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies accessed September 2007
  5. ^ Banyan leaves and fruit - bio of watercolour, Kew Gardens accessed 12 September 2007
  6. ^ ILAB online catalogue accessed 12 September 2007
  7. ^ JC Loudon's Gardener's Magazine December 1833
  8. ^ MappingAsia accessed 12 September 2007
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