George Finlay

An English historian and Philhellene of Scottish descent, he studied law in Glasgow and continued his studies in Göttingen in 1821, where he developed a keen interest in the Greek Revolution. Two years later, in 1823, he arrived in Cephalonia as a guest of Lord Byron, and subsequently moved to Pyrgos, Ilia, where he stayed for fourteen months studying the language and history of the region. In the winter of 1824-25, he fell seriously ill and sought refuge in Italy, and later in Scotland. However, he returned to Greece and participated in Lord Cochrane's unsuccessful campaign to lift the siege of Athens in 1827. After the establishment of the Greek State, he purchased land in Attica in 1829 and unsuccessfully attempted to implement new agricultural techniques. Disheartened, he dedicated himself to writing, which would bring him fame. He authored and published the books: "The Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation" (Athens, 1836), "Essai sur les principes de banque appliques a l'etat actuel de la Grece" (Athens, 1836), "Remarks on the Topography of Oropia and Diacria, with a Map" (Athens, 1838), as well as the historical works, "Greece under the Romans; a Historical View of the Condition of the Greek Nation from the Time of its Conquest by the Romans until the Extinction of the Roman Empire in the East" (two volumes, 1844), "History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 716-1453" (1854), "History of Greece under the Ottoman and Venetian Domination" (1856), and "History of the Greek Revolution" ("Ιστορία της Ελληνικής Επαναστάσεως", 1861, translated into Greek by Al. Papadiamantis, though the translation was never published). Between 1864 and 1870, he served as a correspondent for the "Times" of London, exerting political influence in our country through the re-publication of his articles in Athenian newspapers. He passed away in Athens on January 26, 1875.