Born: July 14, 1868, Washington Hall, Durham, England
Died: July 12, 1926, Baghdad, Iraq
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was a British archaeologist, writer, and government official, born in Durham County, England, and educated at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. From 1899 to 1914, she made several archaeological expeditions in Asia Minor and on the Arabian Peninsula. Her expert knowledge of those regions led her into service with British intelligence forces in the Middle East during World War I. In 1917, she went to Baghdad, Iraq, to serve in the British political office. She was influential in determining the British terms for Iraqi independence and in the election of Faisal I as the first king of Iraq. Her works include Poems from the Divan of Hafiz (1897), The Desert and the Sown (1907), Amurath to Amurath (1911), The Palace and the Mosque of Ukhaidir (1914), and Letters of Gertrude Bell (2 volumes, 1927).
