Foundation
The position of Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford was established in 1636 by William Laud (Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1630 to 1641 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645). Laud wrote to Edward Pococke, who was serving as chaplain in Aleppo in modern-day Syria to improve his knowledge of Arabic language and literature, requesting his return to Oxford to become the first Laudian Professor. Pococke returned in 1636 and gave his inaugural lecture on 10 August of that year. Laud also bought Arabic books for the Bodleian Library, with Pococke's assistance. Laud endowed the chair with revenues from lands in the parish of Bray, Berkshire. When he made the endowment perpetual in 1640, the University sent him a letter of thanks, saying that he had "greatly enriched" the library "by importing Araby into Oxford", had "unlocked the learning of Barbary" (i.e. the Barbary Coast of north Africa) by provision of the professorship, and had shown "untiring munificence" in endowing the chair.
Read more about this topic: Laudian Professor Of Arabic, History
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