{{Short description|Irish orientalist (1801–1878)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = William McGuckin de Slane | image = Mac Guckin de Slane, William. Ch.Reutlinger. BNF Gallica.jpg | caption = de Slane photographed by Charles Reutlinger (1873) | birth_name = William McGuckin | birth_date = 12 August 1801 <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Birth-date and age|birth date†}} --> | birth_place = Belfast, Ireland | death_date = 4 August 1878 <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|death date†|birth date†}} --> | death_place = Passy, Paris, France | occupation = {{flatlist| * Orientalist * philologist * academic * Interpreter }} | education = Trinity College Dublin | spouse = {{marriage|Angadrème Sophie Félicité de la Barre de Mérona|1826|1833|end=d}}<br>Anne Elise Sutton de Clonard | children = 5 | citizenship = French ({{small|1838–}}) }} '''William McGuckin'''{{efn|Alternatively spelt as Mac Guckin or MacGuckin}} (12 August 1801 – 4 August 1878), known as '''Baron de Slane''', was an Irish orientalist, philologist, academic and Principal Interpreter to the French African Army.
==Biography== De Slane was born in Belfast, the son of James McGuckin and Euphemia Hughes.<ref name="darwin">{{cite book|title=Familia 1990: Ulster Genealogical Review: Number 6|publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation|year=1990|isbn=978-090190546-8|editor-last=Darwin|editor-first=Kenneth|place=Belfast|page=30}} <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=F5PnkkJ90w0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA30 --></ref> After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, in 1822<ref name=darwin/> he moved to Paris and studied oriental languages under Silvestre de Sacy.
In 1828 he was admitted to the Société Asiatique, a French learned society.<ref name=pouillon>{{ cite book | last=Pouillon | first=François | year=2008 | title=Dictionnaire des orientalistes de langue française | place=Paris | publisher=Karthala | language=fr | isbn=978-2-84586-802-1 | pages=902–903 }}</ref> The society financed Joseph Toussaint Reinaud and de Slane to prepare a critical edition<ref>{{cite book|title=Géographie d'Aboulféda; texte arabe publié d'après les manuscrits de Paris et de Leyden |date=25 January 2024 |publisher=Paris Impr. royale |url=https://archive.org/details/gographiedabou00abal}}</ref> of Abu'l-Fida (أبو الفداء)'s Arabic geography, ''Taqwīm al-Buldān'' (تقويم البلدان)<ref>{{cite book|title=Taqwīm al-Buldān |url=https://archive.org/stream/Calendar.countries}}</ref> – "Locating the Lands" (1321). This was published in 1840.{{sfn|Reinaud|de Slane|1840}}<ref name=pouillon/>
Between 1843 and 1846 he was sent on a mission by the French Government to catalogue important documents in the libraries of Algiers and Constantine.<ref name=pouillon/>{{sfn|de Slane|1845}} During this time he also served as an Interpreter of Arabic in the French African Army and in 1846 he was appointed as Principal Interpreter for the French African army.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SLANE, William Mac-Guckin de |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/slane-william-mac-guckin-de |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi |language=tr}}</ref><ref name=poly>{{ Cite journal | title=Néocrologie | journal=Polybiblion: Revue bibliographique universelle | volume=8 | pages=365–366 | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4242950/f365.image | date=October 1878 | language=fr }}</ref> He served as Professor of Arabic at the École de langues orientales in Paris and from 1849 also taught Turkish.<ref name=poly/> He was also commissioned by the Bibliothèque Nationale to catalogue their Arabic manuscripts.<ref name=poly/>{{sfn|de Slane|1883–1895}}
On 30 October 1826 he married Angadrème Sophie Félicité de la Barre de Mérona. She died seven years later on 24 September 1833. He then married Anne Elise Sutton de Clonard and together they had five children.<ref name=darwin/> De Slane was awarded French citizenship on 31 December 1838.<ref name=potiquet/> He died aged 76 in Passy, France on 4 August 1878.<ref name=darwin/>
In France he was awarded following honours:
* Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, 24 September 1846 * Officer of the Legion of Honour, 26 December 1852 * Officer of the Instruction Publique * Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, awarded by King of Sardinia * Elected Member, 1862, of the Institut de France<ref name=potiquet>{{cite book | last=Potiquet | first=Alfred | year=1871 | title=L'Institut national de France: ses diverses organisations, ses membres, ses associés et ses correspondants (20 novembre 1795-19 novembre 1869) | publisher=Didier | place=Paris | pages=182–183 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMoDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA182 | language=fr}}</ref> * Founding Member of the Association Historique Algérienne
==Selected publications== {{refbegin|40em}} <!-- for smaller font --> Arabic text of Abu'l-Fida's ''Takwin al-Buldan'', one volume, 1840 *{{ cite book | editor1-last=Reinaud | editor1-first=Joseph Toussaint | editor1-link=Joseph Toussaint Reinaud| editor2-last=de Slane | editor2-first=Baron Mac Guckin | year=1840 | title=Géographie d'Aboulféda; texte arabe publié d'après les manuscrits de Paris et de Leyde aux frais de la Société Asiatique| place=Paris | publisher=Imprimerie Royale | url=https://archive.org/stream/gographiedabou00abal#page/n5/mode/2up | language=fr, ar }}
Translation of a section of Ibn Battuta's rihla, 1843 *{{cite journal | last=de Slane | first=Baron | year=1843 | title=Voyage dans la Soudan par Ibn Batouta | journal=Journal Asiatique | volume=1 | series=Series 4 | issue=March | pages=181–240 | language=fr | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k93141d/f193.image }}
Translation of Ibn Khallikan's biographical dictionary, four volumes, 1843–1871 * {{Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|volume=1}} * {{Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|volume=2}} * {{Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|volume=3}} * {{Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|volume=4}}
Arabic text of Ibn Khaldun's ''Histoire des Berbères'', 2 volumes, 1847–1851 *{{ cite book | last=Ibn-Khaldoun| year=1847 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Arabic text, Volume 1)| publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=ar, fr | url=https://archive.org/stream/histoiredesberbe01ibnk#page/n682/mode/2up | others=Baron de Slane, editor}} *{{ cite book | last=Ibn-Khaldoun| year=1851 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Arabic text, Volume 2)| publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=ar, fr | url=https://archive.org/stream/histoiredesberb00abda#page/n7/mode/2up| others=Baron de Slane, editor}}
Translation of Ibn Khaldun's ''Histoire des Berbères'', 4 volumes, 1852–1856 *{{ cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1852 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Volume 1)| publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=fr | others=Baron de Slane, translator | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3RBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9 }} *{{ cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1854 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Volume 2)| publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=fr | others=Baron de Slane, translator | url=https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_3dYOAAAAQAAJ#page/n5/mode/2up }} <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=1WD1vMYzixEC --> *{{ cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1856 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Volume 3)| others=Baron de Slane, translator | publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=fr | url=https://archive.org/stream/histoiredesberb00khalgoog#page/n8/mode/2up }} <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=FIXFsDnp-K8C --> *{{ cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1856 | title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (Volume 4)| others=Baron de Slane, translator | publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernment | place=Algers | language=fr | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANcOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP9 }}
Translation of ''Al-Bakri'', 1859, one volume *{{cite book | last=El-Bekri | year= 1859 | title= Description de l'Afrique septentrionale | others=Mac Guckin de Slane, translator and editor | publisher=Imprimerie Impériale | place=Paris | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkEYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP11 }} [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k104409x Revised edition with corrections] (1913), Tangiers: Adolphe Jourdan.
Translation of Ibn Khaldun's ''Muqaddimah'' (''Prolegomena''), three volumes, 1863-1868 *{{cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1863 | title=Les prolégomènes d'Ibn Khaldoun (Volume 1) | publisher=Imprimerie Impériale | place=Paris | others=de Slane, editor and translator | url=https://archive.org/stream/lesprolgomne01abdauoft#page/n5/mode/2up | language=fr }} *{{cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1865 | title=Les prolégomènes d'Ibn Khaldoun (Volume 2) | publisher=Imprimerie Impériale | place=Paris | others=de Slane, editor and translator | url=https://archive.org/stream/lesprolgomne02abdauoft#page/n5/mode/2up | language=fr }} *{{cite book | last=Ibn Khaldoun | year=1868 | title=Les prolégomènes d'Ibn Khaldoun (Volume 3) | publisher=Imprimerie Impériale | place=Paris | others=de Slane, editor and translator | url=https://archive.org/stream/lesprolgomne03abdauoft#page/n5/mode/2up | language=fr }} *{{ cite book | last=de Slane| first=Baron | year=1845 | title=Rapport adressé à M. le ministre de l'instruction publique; suivi du Catalogue des manuscrits arabes les plus importants de la bibliothèque d'Alger et de la bibliothèque de Cid-hammouda à Constantine | publisher=P. Dupont | place=Paris | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k104445s| language=fr }} *{{cite book | last=de Slane | first=Baron | year=1883–1895 | title=Département des Manuscrits: Catalogue des manuscrits arabes | publisher=Bibliothèque nationale | place=Paris | language=fr | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k209467t }}
{{refend}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikisourcelang|fr|Auteur:William Mac Guckin de Slane|William Mac Guckin de Slane}} *{{cite web | title=William Mac Guckin de Slane (1801-1878) | publisher=Bibliothèque nationale de France | url=http://data.bnf.fr/11913736/william_mac_guckin_de_slane/ }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slane, William McGuckin de}} Category:Irish orientalists Category:Irish Arabists Category:Naturalized citizens of France Category:French Arabists Category:French philologists Category:Members of the Société Asiatique Category:Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Category:French translators Category:Arabic–French translators Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour Category:Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Category:Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Category:Writers from Belfast Category:1801 births Category:1878 deaths Category:19th-century philologists