Origins & Early Life

George Smith (26 March 1840 – 19 August 1876) was a pioneering English Assyriologist who first discovered and translated the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest-known written works of literature. As the son of a working-class family in Victorian England, Smith was limited in his ability to acquire a formal education. At age fourteen, he was apprenticed to the London-based publishing house of Bradbury and Evans to learn banknote engraving, at which he excelled. From his youth, he was fascinated with Assyrian culture and history.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In his spare time, he read everything that was available to him on the subject. His interest was so keen that while working at the printing firm, he spent his lunch hours at the British Museum, studying publications on the cuneiform tablets that had been unearthed near Mosul in present-day Iraq by Austen Henry Layard, Henry Rawlinson, and Hormuzd Rassam, during the archaeological expeditions of 1840–1855. In 1863 Smith married Mary Clifton (1835–1883), and they had six children. Smith's natural talent for cuneiform studies was first noticed by Samuel Birch, Egyptologist and Director of the Department of...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Alan Arkin — Shared historical date (03-26 · Born) (1934): Esteemed American actor, filmmaker, and musician with a seven-decade career.
• Alan Silvestri — Shared historical date (03-26 · Born) (1950): Award-winning composer renowned for epic film scores, especially for blockbuster franchises.
• Andrea Palladio — Shared historical date (08-19 · Died) (1580): Master Renaissance architect whose villas defined the Palladian style.
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