James Henry Skene (3 May 1812 – 3 October 1886) was a writer, traveller and British Consul at Aleppo from March 1855 to 1880. He was born at Inverie, Scotland, the third son of

James Skene James Skene of Rubislaw (1775–1864) was a Scottish lawyer and amateur artist, best known as a friend of Sir Walter Scott. Life The second son of George Skene (1736–1776) of Rubislaw, Aberdeen and his wife Jane (Jean) Moir of Stoneywood ...

of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen. His brothers included the writer

William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-found ...

and his sisters the writer Felicia Mary Frances Skene. He was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

and then joined the army. After serving some years in the 73rd Regiment of Foot, he sold his commission, and settled in Greece, where he married in 1832 and began to write. In 1853 he published ''Anadol: the Last Home of the Faithful'' and ''The Frontier Lands of the Christian and the Turk, Comprising Travel in the Regions of the Lower Danube in 1850 and 1851''. For his services with the staff of the Army during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, he was appointed British vice-consul in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, and in 1855 was appointed British Consul-General at

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, a position he held until 1880. When he returned to Edinburgh from Syria in 1880 he brought back with him a colony of

Syrian hamsters The golden hamster or Syrian hamster (''Mesocricetus auratus'') is a rodent belonging to the hamster subfamily, Cricetinae. Their natural geographical range is in an arid region of northern Syria and southern Turkey. Their numbers have been d ...

. This colony died out by 1910. James Henry Skene's wife Rhalou was the sister of

Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" (; ; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He was born in Constantinople to a Greek Phanariot family. He was educated at Odessa and the ...

(also known as Alexandre Rhangabé), the Greek author and statesman. Their daughter Zoë married William Thomson, who became

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. Skene died in Geneva on 3 October 1886.

Bibliography

*''Anadol; the last home of the faithful'' *''The Danubian principalities, the frontier lands of the Christian and the Turk'' *''The three eras of Ottoman history, a political essay on the late reforms of Turkey, considered principally as affecting her position in the event of a war taking place'' *''With Lord Stratford in the Crimean war''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skene, James Henry 1812 births 1886 deaths People from Aberdeen British writers 19th-century British diplomats British expatriates in the Ottoman Empire