Duncan Forbes
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2008-03-29T03:05:20Z
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:''This article is about the linguist. For the Hanoverian statesmen, see [[Duncan Forbes of Culloden]]. For the footballer, see [[Duncan Forbes (footballer)]]''. For the Judge, see [[Duncan Forbes (judge)]].
'''Duncan Forbes''' ([[April 28]], [[1798]]–[[August 17]], [[1868]]) was a Scottish [[linguistics|linguist]].
He was born at [[Kinnaird]], [[Perthshire]] and brought up by his grandfather from the age of three after his parents and younger brother emigrated to the [[United States]]. Illiterate until 13, he showed no early signs of linguistic ability, but despite this late start, at age 17 he was appointed schoolmaster of the village of Stralock.
Shortly after this he attended Kirkmichael school followed by Perth Grammar School and the [[University of St. Andrews]], gaining a Masters degree from the latter.
In 1823 he took a post at [[Calcutta]] Academy, but because of poor health he was forced to return to [[Europe]] in 1826. In 1837 he became Professor of Oriental Languages at [[King's College London]] and stayed at this post until his retirement in 1861. During his time at King's College London he also worked at the [[British Museum]], cataloguing the collection of [[Persian language|Persian]] manuscripts.
During his life he wrote a number of books, and it is for these which he is most remembered. He had a hand in translating or editing a number of books in Urdu, Persian and Arabic, including a translation of Mir Amman's Urdu ''[[The Tale of the Four Dervishes |Bagh o Bahar, or Tales of the Four Darweshes]]'', (which is itself a translation from the Persian of [[Amir Khusro]]), and of the Persian ''[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=08501030&ct=0 Adventures of Hatim Tai]''.
==Partial bibliography==
{{wikisource-author}}
* A New Persian Grammar (1828)
* [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=08501030&ct=0 Adventures of Hatim Tai] (1830)
* The Hindustani Manual (1845)
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urdu/baghobahar/index.html Bagh o Bahar] ([[The Tale of the Four Dervishes]]) by [[Mir Amman]] (1857)
* A History of Chess (1860)
* The Bengali Reader (1862)
* Arabic Reading Lessons (1864)
== See also ==
* [[Cox-Forbes theory]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urdu/baghobahar/index.html Bagh o Bahar, or Tales of the Four Darweshes]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Duncan}}
[[Category:Scottish Orientalists]]
[[Category:British Indologists]]
[[Category:1798 births]]
[[Category:1868 deaths]]
[[Category:Academics of King's College London]]
[[Category:Christian Hebraists]]