Magdi Wahba

Who was Magdi Wahba?

Magdi Wahba was an Egyptian university professor, Johnsonian scholar, and lexicographer.

He was born in Alexandria in 1925 the son of a high court judge and later cabinet minister. His mother had been educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and Oxford University. The grandson of a Prime Minister he belonged to the Egyptian aristocracy of the time but was nonetheless a member of the communist party in his youth. He was a graduate of Cairo University and the Sorbonne where he obtained a Diploma in High Studies in International Law in Paris. He decided to pursue his interests in English literature and went to Exeter College, Oxford University and received his B.Litt and D.Phil in 1957.

During 1957–1966 and 1970–1980 Dr. Wahba taught English literature at Cairo University, Egypt. During that time he started the Annual Bulletin of English Studies which later became Cairo Studies in English published by the Department of English Language and Literature. He continued supervising countless PhD students as emeritus professor. After his death, the English Department's library at Cairo University was named after him.

He also served for four years between 1966 and 1970 as the Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Culture for Egypt where he organized in 1967 the Cairo Millennium event to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the city of Cairo. The event is considered by many as one of the great cultural event to occur in recent Egyptian history. It included scholars from all over the world, including academics such as Bernard Lewis, notwithstanding his sympathies to Israel.