David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer (December 24, 1876 in Dundee
-1962) was a member of the British Indian Army
, a political official in the British Indian government and a noted linguist. The Indian Political Service extended to the Middle East, and he was British Political Representative in Cairo
during the First World War.
. His mother's family had long resided in India
and in 1896 David Lorimer relocated to India following completion of his military training at Sandhurst
. His brothers Gordon and Bert also worked in the civil administration in the Indian Political Service. He also had a sister, Hilda.
In 1910 Lorimer married Emily Overend of Dundee. Emily Overend Lorimer (1881-1949) was a noted journalist, writer and lecturer in German philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford
. In the late 1920s and 1930s she became on of the leading commentators in Britain on Nazism
and translated works of Adolf Hitler
.
. In 1903, he entered the Indian Political Service
. During his career, he held various offices, including Vice Consul
in Arabia (1903-1909) and consul
in Kerman
and Balochistan
(1912-1914 and 1916-1917). Lorimer was the Political Agent in Gilgit
from 1920-24. During World War I, he served in Cairo. In 1924, he left the political service.
and Gilgit . He worked as a linguist with the languages of Iran
and Pakistan
, including Khowar, Shina
, Bakhtiari, Wakhi
and the Persian
dialects of Kerman and Gabri
. He wrote a standard work on Burushaski, a language spoken only in the Karakoram
in what is today Pakistan
.
Lorimer was awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship
in 1933-1935 and in 1953 he became an honorary member of the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS) at the University of London
. His notes and correspondence are now kept in a library at SOAS and in the collections of the British Library
.
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
-1962) was a member of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, a political official in the British Indian government and a noted linguist. The Indian Political Service extended to the Middle East, and he was British Political Representative in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
during the First World War.
Leben
Lorimer was born near Dundee and was the son of a Presbyterian clergyman Robert Lorimer and his wife Isabella Lockhart Robertson. He was educated at the High School of DundeeHigh School of Dundee
The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in the city of Dundee, Scotland which provides both primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils...
. His mother's family had long resided in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and in 1896 David Lorimer relocated to India following completion of his military training at Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. His brothers Gordon and Bert also worked in the civil administration in the Indian Political Service. He also had a sister, Hilda.
In 1910 Lorimer married Emily Overend of Dundee. Emily Overend Lorimer (1881-1949) was a noted journalist, writer and lecturer in German philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
. In the late 1920s and 1930s she became on of the leading commentators in Britain on Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and translated works of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Military and political career
From 1898 to 1903, Lorimer served in the Q.V.O. Corps of Guides, including a stint from 1901 to 1903 with the Khyber RiflesKhyber Rifles
The Khyber Rifles is a para-military force forming part of the modern Pakistan Army's Frontier Corps. Dating from the late nineteenth century the regiment provided the title and setting for a widely read novel, King of the Khyber Rifles....
. In 1903, he entered the Indian Political Service
Indian Political Service
The Indian Political Service was a department of the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj.The political officers assigned to the service - many of whom were British Army and British Indian Army officers on secondment - were responsible for the civil administration of frontier districts, and...
. During his career, he held various offices, including Vice Consul
Vice Consul
A vice consul is a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consulate....
in Arabia (1903-1909) and consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
and Balochistan
Balochistan (region)
Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
(1912-1914 and 1916-1917). Lorimer was the Political Agent in Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
from 1920-24. During World War I, he served in Cairo. In 1924, he left the political service.
Scholarly Contributions
In addition to his military and political activities, Lorimer a noted scholar of the peoples of HunzaHunza
Hunza may refer to*Hunza Valley*Former State of Hunza*Hunza River*Hunza Peak*Hunza people*Hunza is the Muisca name of the city of Tunja, Colombia...
and Gilgit . He worked as a linguist with the languages of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, including Khowar, Shina
Shina
Shina can refer to:* Shina , a Japanese term for mainland China* Shina , Shina Gado, a character from the Bloody Roar video game series* Shina people, Dardic people of Pakistani Kashmir* Shin of Hindukush...
, Bakhtiari, Wakhi
Wakhi
Wakhi may be:* The Wakhi language, the language of the majority of the people of Wakhan* Wakhi, an ethnic group in Wakhan, Afghanistan* An adjective; of or relating to Wakhan, the extreme northeastern region of Afghanistan that borders China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan...
and the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
dialects of Kerman and Gabri
Dari (Zoroastrian)
Dari is a Northwestern Iranian ethnolect spoken as a first language by an estimated 8,000 to 15,000 Zoroastrians in and around the cities of Yazd and Kerman in central Iran...
. He wrote a standard work on Burushaski, a language spoken only in the Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
in what is today Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Lorimer was awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
in 1933-1935 and in 1953 he became an honorary member of the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS) at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. His notes and correspondence are now kept in a library at SOAS and in the collections of the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
.
List of publications
- Pashtu, Part I: Syntax of Colonial Pashtu with chapters on the Persian and Indian elements in the modern language Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1915
- Persian Tales. Together with Hilda Roberts (illustrations) and Emily Overend Lorimer (translation), Macmillan & Co. 1919
- The Phonology of the Bakhtiari, Badakshani, and Madaglashti Dialects of Modern Persian. London 1922
- The Burushaski Language, Vol. I: Introduction and Grammar. AschehougAschehougH. Aschehoug & Co , commonly known as Aschehoug, is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway. -History:...
, OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
1935 - The Burushaski Language, Vol.II: Histories. Aschehoug, Oslo 1935
- The Burushaski Language, Vol.II: Dictionary. 1938.
- The Dumki Language. 1939
- The Wakhi Language. 1958