It may seem strange that, although a brilliant polyglot, D. S. Margoliouth was elected to the University of Oxford’s Laudian chair in Arabic in 1889 (at the age of only 31) without having given any proof that he knew Arabic. But once installed as the Laudian professor, Margoliouth quickly remedied the existing state of affairs within the university. He set new scholarly standards for Arabic research in Oxford, and gained the respect of his European peers. He also trained students in Arabic, published Arabic teaching materials, and initiated a scholarly succession.

Portrait [detail] of David Samuel Margoliouth (oil on canvas, 1902) by Harriet Halhed
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford

 

University of Oxford