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Thomas Edward Lawrence
(Tremadoc, Wales 1888- Clouds Hill, England 1935) British archaeologist, adventurer, soldier and author.
He was called Lawrence of Arabia after cooperating with Arab forces during the World War 1, where he was strongly involved in the actions that drove the Ottomans out of the Arabian peninsula and the Levant.
Lawrence was a strong supporter and promoter for the establishment of an Arab state, but his efforts did not lead to the intended result. Disappointed, he withdrew from all Arab related matters in the early 1920s.
Lawrence's fame is out of measure with his real importance, and has especially been triggered by the idolizing Oriental classic movie Lawrence of Arabia of 1962.
Biography
1888 August 15: Born in Tremadoc, Wales and was baptised Thomas Edward Chapman. After his father left the family, it changed its name to Lawrence.
1910: Graduates from the University of Oxford, after studying archaeology, architecture and history.
— Joins a British archaeological expedition to Karkamis in Turkey. Later he travelled in Sinai and he learned Arabic.
1914: At the outbreak of World War 1, Lawrence joins the British Military Intelligence Service in Cairo.
1915: Publishes the book The Wilderness of Zin, where he tells of his experiences in the Middle East.
1916 Lawrence starts working with the Arab Bureau of intelligence, aiming at defining British aid for the Arab revolt against Ottoman supremacy.
October: Lawrence starts to operate in Hijaz where he was stationed in order to aid Husayn Ibn Ali of Mecca. He also cooperated with his son, prince Faysal, and they started guerrilla actions against Turkish troops on the Arabian peninsula, where Lawrence acted as an advisor.
1917: Lawrence acts as coordinator for the British/Arab actions against the Ottomans.
— December: Lawrence is captured by the Ottomans, but manages to escape.
1918 October: Lawrence and Faysal conquers Damascus, and Lawrence returns to Britain.
1919 January: Lawrence leads talks between Faysal and the Zionist leader, Chaim Weizmann, where the two agree on exchanging the allowance of Jewish immigration to Palestine with the establishment of a large Arab state.
March: Lawrence participates at the Paris Peace Conference, where he promotes Arab interests, which was the establishment of a large united Arab kingdom.
1921: Lawrence becomes Arab advisor for Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill.
1922: Changes his name into J.H. Ross, in order to escape the public attention. From this time on, he served as enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
1923: Changes his name to T.E. Shaw.
1926: Publishes privately the book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The book was officially published in 1935.
1935 May 19: Dies in a motorcycle accident.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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