William Martin Leake | |
|---|---|
 William Martin Leake portrayed byChristian Albrecht Jensen | |
| Born | (1777-01-14)14 January 1777 Mayfair,London,Great Britain |
| Died | 6 January 1860(1860-01-06) (aged 82) Brighton,United Kingdom |
William Martin LeakeFRS (14 January 1777 – 6 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy,topographer, diplomat,antiquarian, writer, andFellow of the Royal Society. He served in theBritish Army, spending much of his career in theMediterranean seaports. He developed an interest in geography and culture of the regions visited, and authored a number of works, mainly aboutGreece.
Leake was born in London to John Martin Leake and Mary Calvert Leake. Following a family tradition, he joined the BritishRoyal Regiment of Artillery as an officer;[1] he completed his training at theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1794 and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant.[2] Having spent four years in theWest Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was promoted to captain, and was sent in 1799 by the government toConstantinople to train the forces of theOttoman Empire in the use of artillery. The British Empire had decided to support the Ottoman in its defence against Napoleonic France. A journey throughAsia Minor in 1800 to join the British fleet atCyprus inspired him with an interest in antiquarian topography. In 1801, after travelling across the desert with the Turkish army toEgypt, he was, on theexpulsion of the French, employed in surveying theNile valley as far as thecataracts; but having sailed with the ship engaged to convey theElgin Marbles fromAthens to England, he lost all his maps and observations when the vessel foundered offCerigo in Greece.[3]
For much of the first decade of the nineteenth century, Leake was employed by theForeign Office to spy in Greece in the guise of a wandering tourist,[4] with the intent of gathering topographical information which would be useful in the case of a French invasion.[5] Shortly after his arrival in England, he was sent out to survey the coast ofAlbania and theMorea, with the view of assisting the Turks against attacks of the French from Italy, and of this he took advantage to form a valuable collection of coins and inscriptions and to explore ancient sites. In 1807,war having broken out between Turkey and England, he was made prisoner atSalonica; but, obtaining his release the same year, he was sent on a diplomatic mission toAli Pasha of Ioannina, whose confidence he completely won, and with whom he remained for more than a year as British representative.[3] He was there in 1809 whenLord Byron visited Ali's court.[1]
In 1810 he was granted a yearly sum of £600 for his services inTurkey. In 1815 he retired from the army, in which he held the rank of colonel, devoting the remainder of his life to topographical and antiquarian studies.[3] He joined the learnedSociety of Dilettanti and became vice-president of theRoyal Society of Literature.[1] He was admitted aFellow of the Royal Society on 13 April 1815.[6]
He died inSteyning, Sussex on 6 January 1860. The marbles collected by him in Greece were presented to theBritish Museum; his bronzes, vases, gems and coins were purchased by theUniversity of Cambridge after his death, and are now in theFitzwilliam Museum. He was also elected as a Fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society, received the honoraryDCL atOxford in 1816, and was a member of theBerlin Academy of Sciences and correspondent of theInstitute of France.[3]
He authored:
HisTopography of Athens, the first attempt at a systematic treatment, long remained an authority.[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Leake, William Martin".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 329.