William Martin LeakeFRS (14 January 1777 – 6 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterranean seaports. He developed an interest in geography and culture of the regions visited, and authored a number of works, mainly about Greece.
Leake was born in London to John Martin Leake and Mary Calvert Leake. Following a family tradition, he joined the British Royal Regiment of Artillery as an officer;[1] he completed his training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1794 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.[2] Having spent four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was promoted to captain, and was sent in 1799 by the government to Constantinople to train the forces of the Ottoman Empire in the use of artillery. The British Empire had decided to support the Ottoman in its defence against Napoleonic France. A journey through Asia Minor in 1800 to join the British fleet at Cyprus inspired him with an interest in antiquarian topography. In 1801, after travelling across the desert with the Turkish army to Egypt, he was, on the expulsion of the French, employed in surveying the Nile valley as far as the cataracts; but having sailed with the ship engaged to convey the Elgin marbles from Athens to England, he lost all his maps and observations when the vessel foundered off Cerigo in Greece.[3]
For much of the first decade of the nineteenth century, Leake was employed by the Foreign Office to spy in Greece in the guise of a wandering tourist,[4] with the intent of gathering topographical information which would be useful in the case of a French invasion.[5] Shortly after his arrival in England, he was sent out to survey the coast of Albania and the Morea, with the view of assisting the Turks against attacks of the French from Italy, and of this he took advantage to form a valuable collection of coins and inscriptions and to explore ancient sites. In 1807, war having broken out between Turkey and England, he was made prisoner at Salonica; but, obtaining his release the same year, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Ali Pasha of Ioannina, whose confidence he completely won, and with whom he remained for more than a year as British representative.[3] He was there in 1809 when Lord Byron visited Ali's court.[1]
In 1810 he was granted a yearly sum of £600 for his services in Turkey. In 1815 he retired from the army, in which he held the rank of colonel, devoting the remainder of his life to topographical and antiquarian studies.[3] He joined the learned Society of Dilettanti and became vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature.[1] He was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society on 13 April 1815.[6]
^"Lists of Royal Society Fellows". Retrieved 15 December 2006.
Sourcesedit
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Leake, William Martin". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 329.
Goekoop, Cees H. (2010). Where on Earth is Ithaca? A Quest for the Homeland of Odysseus. Utrecht: Eburon. ISBN978-90-5972-344-3.
Marsden, John Howard (1864). A brief memoir of the life and writings of the late Lieutenant-Colonel William Martin Leake. London: Printed by Whittingham and Wilkins for private circulation only.
McNeal, R. A. (1993). ""Introduction"". In McNeal, R. A. (ed.). Nicholas Biddle in Greece: The Journals and Letters of 1806. State College: Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 1–48. ISBN978-0-271-03445-4.
Ernst Curtius in the Preussische Jahrbücher (September 1876)
JE Sandys, Hist. of Classical Scholarship, iii. (1908), p. 442.
J.M. Wagstaff, Colonel Leake in Laconia, in J.M. Sanders (ed), ΦΙΛΟΛΑΚΩΝ. Lakonian studies in honour of Hector Catling. (1992) Athens, 277–83.
J.M. Wagstaff, Pausanias and the topographers. The case of Colonel Leake, in S.E. Alcock, J.F. Cherry, and J. Elsner (eds), Pausanias. Travel and memory in Roman Greece. (2001a) Oxford, 190–206.
J.M. Wagstaff, Colonel Leake. Traveller and scholar. in S. Searight and M. Wagstaff (eds), Travellers in the Levant. Voyagers and visionaries. (2001b) Durham, 3–15.
CL Witmore, On multiple fields. Between the material world and media: Two cases from the Peloponnesus, Greece, Archaeological Dialogues, (2004) 11(2), 133–164.
CL Witmore and TV Buttrey, William Martin Leake: a contemporary of P.O. Brøndsted in Greece and in London, in P.O. Brøndsted (1780–1842) – A Danish Classicist in his European context. Rasmussen, B.B., Jensen, J.S., Lund, J. and Märcher (eds) Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter (2008) 31, 15–34.
External linksedit
by William Martin Leake, online book. Includes Biography and Bibliography.[dead link]
December 18, 2023
william, martin, leake, confused, with, william, ralph, martin, leake, january, 1777, january, 1860, english, soldier, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, fellow, royal, society, served, british, army, spending, much, career, mediterranean, seaports, d. Not to be confused with William Ralph Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS 14 January 1777 6 January 1860 was an English soldier spy topographer diplomat antiquarian writer and Fellow of the Royal Society He served in the British Army spending much of his career in the Mediterranean seaports He developed an interest in geography and culture of the regions visited and authored a number of works mainly about Greece William Martin LeakeFRSWilliam Martin Leakeportrayed by Christian Albrecht JensenBorn 1777 01 14 14 January 1777Mayfair LondonDied6 January 1860 1860 01 06 aged 82 Brighton Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Notes 4 Sources 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife editLeake was born in London to John Martin Leake and Mary Calvert Leake Following a family tradition he joined the British Royal Regiment of Artillery as an officer 1 he completed his training at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich in 1794 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant 2 Having spent four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery he was promoted to captain and was sent in 1799 by the government to Constantinople to train the forces of the Ottoman Empire in the use of artillery The British Empire had decided to support the Ottoman in its defence against Napoleonic France A journey through Asia Minor in 1800 to join the British fleet at Cyprus inspired him with an interest in antiquarian topography In 1801 after travelling across the desert with the Turkish army to Egypt he was on the expulsion of the French employed in surveying the Nile valley as far as the cataracts but having sailed with the ship engaged to convey the Elgin marbles from Athens to England he lost all his maps and observations when the vessel foundered off Cerigo in Greece 3 For much of the first decade of the nineteenth century Leake was employed by the Foreign Office to spy in Greece in the guise of a wandering tourist 4 with the intent of gathering topographical information which would be useful in the case of a French invasion 5 Shortly after his arrival in England he was sent out to survey the coast of Albania and the Morea with the view of assisting the Turks against attacks of the French from Italy and of this he took advantage to form a valuable collection of coins and inscriptions and to explore ancient sites In 1807 war having broken out between Turkey and England he was made prisoner at Salonica but obtaining his release the same year he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Ali Pasha of Ioannina whose confidence he completely won and with whom he remained for more than a year as British representative 3 He was there in 1809 when Lord Byron visited Ali s court 1 In 1810 he was granted a yearly sum of 600 for his services in Turkey In 1815 he retired from the army in which he held the rank of colonel devoting the remainder of his life to topographical and antiquarian studies 3 He joined the learned Society of Dilettanti and became vice president of the Royal Society of Literature 1 He was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society on 13 April 1815 6 He died in Steyning Sussex on 6 January 1860 The marbles collected by him in Greece were presented to the British Museum his bronzes vases gems and coins were purchased by the University of Cambridge after his death and are now in the Fitzwilliam Museum He was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society received the honorary DCL at Oxford in 1816 and was a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and correspondent of the Institute of France 3 Works editHe authored Researches in Greece 1814 The topography of Athens With some remarks on its antiquities 1821 Journal of a tour in Asia Minor with comparative remarks on the ancient and modern geography of that country 1824 Travels in the Morea With a map and plans 1830 and a supplement Peloponnesiaca 1846 Travels in Northern Greece 1835 Numismata Hellenica 1854 followed by a supplement in 1859 3 His Topography of Athens the first attempt at a systematic treatment long remained an authority 3 Notes edit a b c Goekoop 2010 p 41 Marsden 1864 p 1 a b c d e f Chisholm 1911 McNeal 1993 p 33 Whitley 2001 p 46 Lists of Royal Society Fellows Retrieved 15 December 2006 Sources edit nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Leake William Martin Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 16 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 329 Goekoop Cees H 2010 Where on Earth is Ithaca A Quest for the Homeland of Odysseus Utrecht Eburon ISBN 978 90 5972 344 3 Marsden John Howard 1864 A brief memoir of the life and writings of the late Lieutenant Colonel William Martin Leake London Printed by Whittingham and Wilkins for private circulation only McNeal R A 1993 Introduction In McNeal R A ed Nicholas Biddle in Greece The Journals and Letters of 1806 State College Pennsylvania State University Press pp 1 48 ISBN 978 0 271 03445 4 Whitley James 2001 The Archaeology of Ancient Greece Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 62733 7 Further reading editthe Architect for 7 October 1876 Ernst Curtius in the Preussische Jahrbucher September 1876 JE Sandys Hist of Classical Scholarship iii 1908 p 442 J M Wagstaff Colonel Leake in Laconia in J M Sanders ed FILOLAKWN Lakonian studies in honour of Hector Catling 1992 Athens 277 83 J M Wagstaff Pausanias and the topographers The case of Colonel Leake in S E Alcock J F Cherry and J Elsner eds Pausanias Travel and memory in Roman Greece 2001a Oxford 190 206 J M Wagstaff Colonel Leake Traveller and scholar in S Searight and M Wagstaff eds Travellers in the Levant Voyagers and visionaries 2001b Durham 3 15 CL Witmore On multiple fields Between the material world and media Two cases from the Peloponnesus Greece Archaeological Dialogues 2004 11 2 133 164 link CL Witmore and TV Buttrey William Martin Leake a contemporary of P O Brondsted in Greece and in London in P O Brondsted 1780 1842 A Danish Classicist in his European context Rasmussen B B Jensen J S Lund J and Marcher eds Historisk filosofiske Skrifter 2008 31 15 34 External links editTravels in Northern Greece by William Martin Leake online book Includes Biography and Bibliography dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Martin Leake amp oldid 1179801414, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
