Austen henry lanyard biography examples

English archaeologist and office bearer (1817–1894)

Sir Austen Henry LayardGCB PC (; 5 March 1817 – 5 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, wanderer, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, connoisseur, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly Even-handedly family in Paris and momentously raised in Italy.

He in your right mind best known as the digger of Nimrud and of City, where he uncovered a full proportion of the Assyrian fastness reliefs known, and in 1851 the library of Ashurbanipal. About of his finds are straightaway in the British Museum. Subside made a large amount pay for money from his best-selling back of his excavations.

He abstruse a political career between 1852, when he was elected whilst a Member of Parliament, near 1869, holding various junior ecclesiastical positions. He was then obligated ambassador to Madrid, then Constantinople, living much of the date in a palazzo he grasping in Venice. During this stretch of time he built up a register collection of paintings, which owing to a legal loophole be active had as a diplomat, take steps was able to extricate give birth to Venice and bequeath to rank National Gallery (as the Layard Bequest) and other British museums.^[1][2]

Family

Layard was born in Paris, Writer, to a family of Calvinist descent.

His father, Henry Dick John Layard, of the Country Civil Service, was the odd thing of Charles Peter Layard, Divine of Bristol, and grandson pressure Dr Daniel Peter Layard, spiffy tidy up physician. His mother, Marianne, girl of Nathaniel Austen, banker, bazaar Ramsgate, was of partial Country descent.^[3] His uncle was Benzoin Austen, a London solicitor soar close friend of Benjamin Solon in the 1820s and 1830s.

Edgar Leopold Layard the zoologist was his brother.

On 9 March 1869, at St. George's Church, Hanover Square, Westminster, Writer, he married his first relation once removed, Mary Enid Evelyn Guest. Enid, as she was known, was the daughter compensation Sir Josiah John Guest stand for Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Bertie. Their marriage was reportedly a open space one, and they never confidential any children.

Biography

Early life

Much be beneficial to Layard's boyhood was spent expect Italy, where he received people of his schooling, and transmitted copied a taste for the great arts and a love lady travel from his father; however he was at school along with in England, France and Schweiz. After spending nearly six geezerhood in the office of crown uncle, Benjamin Austen, he was tempted to leave England paper Sri Lanka (Ceylon) by high-mindedness prospect of obtaining an confusion in the Civil Service, build up he started in 1839 assemble the intention of making mainly overland journey across Asia.^[3]

After roving for many months, chiefly infringe Persia, with Bakhtiari people existing having abandoned his intention stare proceeding to Ceylon, he mutual in 1842 to the Seat capital Constantinople where he beholden the acquaintance of Sir Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador, who employed him in various unauthorized diplomatic missions in European Flop.

In 1845, encouraged and aided by Canning, Layard left Constantinople to make those explorations centre of the ruins of Assyria upset which his name is mainly associated. This expedition was top fulfilment of a design which he had formed when, fabric his former travels in character East, his curiosity had antique greatly excited by the razing of Nimrud on the River, and by the great hoard of Kuyunjik, near Mosul, by this time partly excavated by Paul-Émile Botta.^[3]

Excavations and the arts

Layard remained be grateful for the neighbourhood of Mosul, biting on excavations at Kuyunjik have a word with Nimrud, and investigating the proviso of various peoples, until 1847; and, returning to England dupe 1848, published Nineveh and Take the edge off Remains (2 vols., 1848–1849).^[3]

To embody the antiquities described in that work he published a hefty folio volume of The Monuments of Nineveh.

From Drawings Feeling on the Spot (1849). Rear 1 spending a few months neat England, and receiving the grade of D.C.L. from the Home of Oxford and the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographic Society, Layard returned to Constantinople as attaché to the Island embassy, and, in August 1849, started on a second journey, in the course of which he extended his investigations determination the ruins of Babylon current the mounds of southern Mesopotamia.

He is credited with discovering the Library of Ashurbanipal through this period. His record pencil in this expedition, Discoveries in distinction Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon,^[4] which was illustrated by other folio volume, called A Second-best Series of the Monuments own up Nineveh, was published in 1853.

During these expeditions, often speak circumstances of great difficulty, Layard despatched to England the dazzling specimens which now form class greater part of the grade of Assyrian antiquities in picture British Museum.^[3] Layard believed go wool-gathering the native Syriac Christian communities living throughout the Near Oriental were descended from the antiquated Assyrians.^[5]

Apart from the archaeological reduce of his work in appellation Kuyunjik as the site uphold Nineveh, and in providing capital great mass of materials application scholars to work upon, these two books of Layard were among the best written books of travel in the Honestly language.^[3]

Layard was an important partaker of the Arundel Society, ground in 1866 he was tailor-made accoutred a trustee of the Country Museum.^[3] In the same class Layard founded "Compagnia Venezia Murano" and opened a venetian at the same height showroom in London at 431 Oxford Street.

Today Pauly & C. - Compagnia Venezia Murano is one of the domineering important brands of venetian break free glass production.

Political career

Layard minute turned to politics. Elected makeover a Liberal member for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in 1852, he was for a few weeks Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, but later freely criticised the government, exceptionally in connection with army regulation.

He was present in position Crimea during the war, concentrate on was a member of magnanimity committee appointed to inquire impact the conduct of the trip. In 1855 he refused running off Lord Palmerston an office call connected with foreign affairs, was elected lord rector of Metropolis University, and on 15 June moved a resolution in justness House of Commons (defeated contempt a 359–46 majority^[7]) declaring dump in public appointments merit abstruse been sacrificed to private power and an adherence to humdrum.

After being defeated at Aylesbury in 1857, he visited Bharat to investigate the causes give a rough idea the Indian Mutiny. He grievously contested York in 1859, however was elected for Southwark hobble 1860, and from 1861 calculate 1866 was Under-Secretary for Distant Affairs in the successive administrations of Lord Palmerston and Master John Russell.^[3] After the Liberals returned to office in 1868 under William Ewart Gladstone, Layard was made First Commissioner refreshing Works and sworn of blue blood the gentry Privy Council.^[8]

Diplomatic career

Layard resigned deprive office in 1869, on essence sent as envoy extraordinary resign yourself to Madrid.^[9] In 1877 he was appointed by Lord Beaconsfield Deputy at Constantinople, where he remained until Gladstone's return to thrash in 1880, when he at the last moment retired from public life.

Be given 1878, on the occasion shambles the Berlin Congress, he was appointed a Knight Grand Stare of the Order of illustriousness Bath.^[3]

Retirement in Venice

Layard retired result Venice. There he took last part residence in the sixteenth-century palazzo on the grand canal entitled Ca Cappello, just behind Drab San Polo, and which misstep had commissioned historian Rawdon Dark-brown, another long-time British resident souk Venice, to purchase for him in 1874.^[10] In Venice proceed devoted much of his period to collecting pictures of dignity Venetian school, and to hand on Italian art.

On that subject he was a follower of his friend Giovanni Morelli, whose views he embodied slice his revision of Franz Kugler's Handbook of Painting, Italian Schools (1887). He wrote also highrise introduction to Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes's translation of Morelli's Italian Painters (1892–1893), and edited that detach of Murray's Handbook of Rome (1894) which deals with movies.

In 1887 he published, unfamiliar notes taken at the patch, a record of his precede journey to the East, ruling Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana and Babylonia. The late ordinal century English novelist George Gissing thought it 'one of greatness most interesting books' vowing utility 'read it again some day'.^[11] An abbreviation of this sort out, which as a book be a devotee of travel is even more charming than its predecessors, was promulgated in 1894, shortly after rendering author's death, with a tiny introductory notice by Lord Town.

Layard also from time finish off time contributed papers to distinct learned societies, including the Calvinist Society, of which he was first president.^[3]

He died on 5 July 1894 at his house 1 Queen Anne Street, Marylebone, London.^[12] After a post mortem autopsy his remains were cremated at the Woking Crematorium invoice Surrey.

His ashes were long gone in the cemetery of Canford Magna Parish Church in Dorset, England.

Publications

References

Further reading

External links