William Gifford Palgrave

William Gifford Palgrave (; 24 January 1826 – 30 September 1888) was an English priest, soldier, diplomat, traveller, and Arabist.

Early life and education Palgrave was born in Westminster. He was the son of Sir Francis Palgrave (born Jewish, converted to Anglican) and Elizabeth Turner, daughter of the banker Dawson Turner. His brothers were Francis Turner Palgrave, Inglis Palgrave and Reginald Palgrave. He was educated at Charterhouse School, then occupying its original site near Smithfield, and under the head-mastership of Dr. Saunders, afterwards Dean of Peterborough. Among other honours he won the school gold medal for classical verse, and proceeded to Trinity College, Oxford, where he obtained a scholarship, graduating First Class Lit. Hum., Second Class Math., 1846.

Early overseas travel and conversion to Catholicism Palgrave went straight from college to India, and served for a time in the 8th Bombay Native Infantry, H.I.C. Shortly after this he became a Roman Catholic, was ordained a priest, joined the order of the Jesuits and served as a member of the order in India, Rome, and in Syria, where he acquired a colloquial command of Arabic. Stocking his bags with medicines and small trade goods, and accompanied by one servant, he set off for Najd, in north-central Arabia. He travelled as a Muslim. The service he would do for the Society of Jesus and the French empire would be as a spy, not a missionary.

Palgrave became friendly with Najdi ruler Faisal bin Turki while in Najd. Faisal's son and heir apparent, Abdullah, asked Palgrave to get him strychnine. Palgrave believed that Abdullah wanted it to poison his father. Palgrave was accused of espionage and was almost executed for his Christian beliefs. In 1879 he was moved to Bangkok. In 1884 he was appointed Minister Resident and Consul-General to Uruguay, where he served until his death in 1888.

Besides his work on Central Arabia, Gifford Palgrave published a volume of Essays on Eastern Questions, a narrative called Hermann Agha, a sketch of Dutch Guiana, and a volume of essays titled Ulysses.

Since his death, some have cast doubt on the veracity of his travel accounts. St. John Philby, who retraced many of the routes Palgrave had travelled, suggested he may not have travelled as extensively as he claimed. Noting inaccuracies and discrepancies in his accounts, Philby accuses him of either basing his writing on second-hand accounts of local travellers, or fabricating them altogether.