Bertram Sidney Thomas (13 June 1892 – 27 December 1950) was an English

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

who is the first documented Westerner to cross the

Rub' al Khali The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: / . The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; ar, ٱلرُّبْع ٱلْخَالِي (), the "Empty Quarter") is the sand de ...

(Empty Quarter). He was also a scientist who practiced

craniofacial anthropometry The history of anthropometry includes its use as an early tool of anthropology, use for identification, use for the purposes of understanding human physical variation in paleoanthropology and in various attempts to correlate physical with racial ...

Biography

Bertram Thomas was born in

Pill Pill or The Pill may refer to: Drugs * Pill (pharmacy), referring to anything small for a specific dose of medicine * "The Pill", a general nickname for the combined oral contraceptive pill Film and television * ''The Pill'' (film), a 2011 fil ...

near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

and educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. After working for the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state mail, postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II of En ...

, he served in Belgium during World War I. He was commissioned in the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the So ...

in January 1916 and served in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

(now

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

) between 1916 and 1918. He worked as an Assistant Political Officer in this country from 1918 to 1922, and Assistant British Representative in Transjordan (now

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

), from 1922 to 1924. He was appointed as Finance Minister and

Wazir Wazir often refers to: * Vizier or wazir, a high-ranking political advisor or minister Wazir may also refer to: Places * Wazirabad, a City in Punjab, Pakistan * Waziristan, a region in tribal belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan * Wazir Akbar K ...

Taimur bin Feisal Al-Wasik Billah al-Majid Sheikh Taimur bin Faisal bin Turki, KCIE, CSI (1886 – 28 January 1965) ( ar, تيمور بن فيصل بن تركي) was the sultan of Muscat and Oman from 5 October 1913 to 10 February 1932. He was born at Muscat an ...

, the Sultan of

Muscat and Oman The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ( ar, سلطنة مسقط وعمان, Salṭanat Masqaṭ wa-‘Umān), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the pres ...

(now

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

), a post he held from 1925 to 1932. In this capacity, he undertook a number of expeditions into the desert, and became the first European to cross the

from 1930 and 1931, a journey he recounted in ''Arabia Felix'' (1932), in which he described this desert's animals, inhabitants, and culture. Besides ''Arabia Felix'', Thomas wrote several other books, including ''The Arabs: The Epic Life Story of a People Who Have Left Their Deep Impress on the World'' (London: T. Butterworth, 1930; Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc., 1937). During World War II, Thomas headed the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where British Army officers were taught

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and culture. He returned to England and died in the house in which he was born, in 1950. Two species of Omani reptiles are named in his honor, '' Platyceps thomasi'' and ''

Uromastyx thomasi ''Uromastyx thomasi'', the Omani spiny-tailed lizard or Thomas's mastigure, is a species of agamid lizard. It is found in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabia ...

''.

Awards

He was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1920 and

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

in 1949. In 1932 he was also awarded the

Livingstone Medal The Livingstone Medal is awarded by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding service of a humanitarian nature with a clear geographical dimension. This was awarded first in 1901. Named after the African explorer David L ...

of the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

. One of the Society's most prestigious awards, it is offered for outstanding service of a humanitarian nature with a clear geographical dimension.

Film about Bertram Thomas

A recent film called ''Crossing the Empty Quarter'' was created by the

Anglo-Oman Society The British Omani Society (formerly the Anglo-Omani Society) (Arabic: الجمعية البريطانية العمانية), is a London-based charitable organisation registered in the UK. It seeks to promote and sustain relations between Britai ...

's Chairman, Richard Muir — the ex-Ambassador to Oman — from footage taken by Thomas on his journey, and photographs from the Library of the Oriental Institute in Cambridge.

Bibliography

*''Arabia Felix'' (1932) *''The Arabs: The Epic Life Story of a People Who Have Left Their Deep Impress on the World'' (London: T. Butterworth, 1930; Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc., 1937)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Bertram 1892 births 1950 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Civil servants in the General Post Office British colonial political officers English explorers English travel writers Explorers of Arabia Explorers of Asia People from North Somerset (district) Somerset Light Infantry officers British Army General List officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal