T. E. Lawrence

Military Commander

1888 – 1935

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Who was T. E. Lawrence?

Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO, known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18. The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title which was used for the 1962 film based on his World War I activities.

Lawrence was born illegitimate in Tremadog, Wales, in August 1888 to Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Junner, a governess who was herself illegitimate. Chapman had left his wife and first family in Ireland to live with Sarah Junner, and they called themselves Mr and Mrs Lawrence. In the summer of 1896 the Lawrences moved to Oxford, where in 1907–10 young Lawrence studied history at Jesus College, graduating with First Class Honours. He became a practising archaeologist in the Middle East, working at various excavations with David George Hogarth and Leonard Woolley. In 1908 he joined the Oxford University Officer Training Corps, undergoing a two-year training course. In January 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, Lawrence was co-opted by the British Army to undertake a military survey of the Negev Desert while doing archaeological research.

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Born
Aug 16, 1888
Tremadog
Also known as
  • Thomas Edward Lawrence
  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • Aircraftsman Ross
  • Aircraftsman Shaw
  • Thomas E. Lawrence
  • Ned
  • Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO
  • John Hume Ross
  • Thomas Edward Shaw
Parents
Siblings
Nationality
  • United Kingdom
Profession
Education
  • Oxford High School
    (1896/09 - 1907/07)
  • Magdalen College, Oxford
    ( - 1910)
  • Jesus College, Oxford
    History
    (1907 - 1910/06)
  • University of Oxford
  • City of Oxford High School for Boys
Employment
  • Reginald Campbell Thompson
    (1911 - )
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
    (1912 - )
  • Leonard Woolley
    (1912 - 1914)
  • Aircraftman, Royal Air Force
    (1922 - 1923/01)
  • Aircraftman, Royal Air Force
    (1925/08 - 1935/03)
Lived in
  • Gwynedd
    (1888 - 1896)
  • Oxford
    (1896 - )
  • Egypt
    (1914/12 - 1916/10)
  • Oxford
    (1919/10 - 1921)
  • India
    (1927/01 - 1928)
Died
May 19, 1935
Clouds Hill
Resting place
Moreton

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"T. E. Lawrence." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/t_e_lawrence>.

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