George Horton

George Horton (1859-1936) was an American diplomat, journalist, author, poet, and Philhellene. A prominent journalist and intellectual in Chicago, he was a profound scholar of the Greek language and culture. He began his career as a literary editor for the Chicago Times-Herald (1899-1901) and later served as the editorial director of the literary supplement of the Chicago American newspaper (1901-1903). Horton served as the U.S. Consul in Athens (1893-1898 and 1905-1906), where he passionately promoted the revival of the modern Olympic Games, in Thessaloniki (1910-1911), and subsequently in Smyrna (1911-1917 and 1917-1922), where he was an eyewitness to its destruction. He described this event in his book "The Blight of Asia" (1926), which he wrote after resigning from his diplomatic mission and as a private citizen. Horton translated Sappho into English, wrote commentaries on the Bible, several novels, a lyrical "Guide for the Visitor of Athens," and composed a reflective account of his stay in Argolis.