EDWARD WILLIAM LANE
\ˈɛdwəd wˈɪli͡əm lˈe͡ɪn], \ˈɛdwəd wˈɪliəm lˈeɪn], \ˈɛ_d_w_ə_d w_ˈɪ_l_iə_m l_ˈeɪ_n]\
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An English Orientalist, one of the most accomplished men of his time; born at Hereford, Sept. 17, 1801; died at Worthing, Aug. 10, 1876. He published "Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians" (1836), and made one of the most famous translations of the "Arabian Nights" (1838-40). This work was the first translation of consequence into English which was made directly from the Arabic, all previous translations having been made through the French. It contained valuable illustrations and numerous scholarly and indispensable notes. The translations of Burton and Payne were subsequent to it. The world is indebted to him for many valuable works on Egypt, and especially for his "Arabic-English Lexicon" (1863-74), which cost him twenty years of unremitting labor. The succeeding parts came out from 1877 to 1882 under the editorship of S. Lane-Poole, the whole forming a dictionary indispensable to the student of Arabic. He also published "Selections from the Ku-ran".
By Charles Dudley Warner