William McGuckin de Slane | |
|---|---|
 Photograph by Charles Reutlinger | |
| Born | 12 August 1801 Belfast, Ireland |
| Died | 4 August 1878 Passy, Paris, France |
| Nationality | Irish andFrench |
| Occupation(s) | Orientalist, Arabic phililogist |
| Known for | Translation of medieval Arabic texts |
| Spouse(s) | Angadrème Sophie Félicité de la Barre de Mérona (married 30 October 1826) (died 24 September 1833) Anne Elise Sutton de Clonard |
| Children | Eugene-Michel-Thomas Macguckin (29 October 1836 – 27 March 1899) + 4 others |
William McGuckin (alsoMac Guckin andMacGuckin), known asBaron de Slane (Belfast, Ireland, 12 August 1801 – Paris, France, 4 August 1878) was an Irish orientalist. He became a French national on 31 December 1838. and held the post of the Principal Interpreter of Arabic of the French Army from 1 September 1846 until his retirement on 28 March 1872. He is known for publishing and translating a number of important medieval Arabic texts.
De Slane was born in Belfast, the son of James McGuckin and Euphemia Hughes.[1] After graduating fromTrinity College Dublin, in 1822[1] he moved to Paris and studied oriental languages underSilvestre de Sacy.
In 1828 he was admitted to theSociété Asiatique, a Frenchlearned society.[2] The society financedJoseph Toussaint Reinaud and de Slane to prepare a critical edition[3] ofAbu'l-Fida (أبو الفداء)'s Arabic geography,Taqwīm al-Buldān (تقويم البلدان)[4] – "Locating the Lands" (1321). This was published in 1840.[5][2]
Between 1843 and 1846 he was sent on a mission by the French Government to catalogue important documents in the libraries ofAlgiers andConstantine.[2][6] During this time he also served as an Interpreter of Arabic in the French African Army and in 1846 he was appointed as Principal Interpreter for the French African army.[7][8] He served as Professor of Arabic at theÉcole de langues orientales in Paris and from 1849 also taught Turkish.[8] He was also commissioned by theBibliothèque Nationale to catalogue their Arabic manuscripts.[8][9]
On 30 October 1826 he married Angadrème Sophie Félicité de la Barre de Mérona. She died seven years later on 24 September 1833. He then married Anne Elise Sutton de Clonard and together they had five children.[1] De Slane was awarded French citizenship on 31 December 1838.[10] He died aged 76 inPassy, France on 4 August 1878.[1]
In France he was awarded following honours:
Arabic text ofAbu'l-Fida'sTakwin al-Buldan, one volume, 1840
Translation of a section ofIbn Battuta'srihla, 1843
Translation ofIbn Khallikan's biographical dictionary, four volumes, 1843–1871
Arabic text ofIbn Khaldun'sHistoire des Berbères, 2 volumes, 1847–1851
Translation ofIbn Khaldun'sHistoire des Berbères, 4 volumes, 1852–1856
Translation ofAl-Bakri, 1859, one volume
Translation ofIbn Khaldun'sMuqaddimah (Prolegomena), three volumes, 1863-1868
