![[Iwanami World Biographical Dictionary, 2013 ]](imagejpg/iwanami2013.jpg)
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Have you ever looked up T. E. Lawrence (TEL) on a biographical dictionary or an encyclopedia? When a new biographical dictionary was published in December 2013 in Japan, I looked up an article of TEL and found very strange dates on it: Lawrence, Thomas Edward 1888.8.15 - 1935.5.13 “Not on 13th TEL died, the day of his fatal crash, but 19th. An evident mistake!” So I said to myself, then, sunk into thought about the date of TEL was born. The date has not always tallied — some books say it was 15th, some 16th. Let's arrange information on this matter. † Please note that some letters are emphasized with blue color by this article's author. |
| Fifteenth August [15.8.1888] — His official birthday |
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CERTIFIED COPY OF AN ENTRY OF BIRTH Given at the General Register Office ![[Birth Certificate]](imagejpg/birthcertificate02.jpg) 1888 Birth in the Sub-district of Tremadoc in the Counties of Merioneth & Carnarvon His record was on Column No. 31. ♣ Richard Aldington also researched the T. E. Lawrence's birth certificate. See Lawrence of Arabia: a Biographical Enquiry, London: Collins, 1955, p.25 ♣ Desmond Stewart noted that:
♣ There are two mentions of birthday in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, at CHAPTER CIII.
♣ There is no mention of the date of TEL's birth in the 1927 biography Lawrence and the Arabs (London: Jonathan Cape). Robert Graves wrote only “He was born at Tremadoc in North Wales in August 1888” [p.12]. ♣ Canon E. F. Hall, then 98 years old, was interviewed by Malcolm Brown for the 1986 BBC documentary, and his memory of TEL are on A Touch of Genius: The Life of T. E. Lawrence, 1988. ![[Canon E. F. Hall, 1986]](imagejpg/canon_hall.jpg)
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Birth Certificate First of all, I'm bringing forward evidence for the fifteenth day — his birth certificate. I order the document from UK via Internet on February 2014 (it cost £25!). Here the transcription of TEL's birth certificate.
Who's Who, Encyclopedia Britannica and DNB 
It was 1920, when TEL firstly appeared on Who's Who. After the edition of 1923 his birth date mentioned, and TEL was apparently responsible for the contents. It reads that:
LAWRENCE, Thomas Edward, Research Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, 1919; b. Wales, 15 Aug. 1888. Educ.: Oxford High School, Jesus College, Oxford; Magdalen College, Oxford (Senior Demy. B.A.1911);...[1923 ed., p.1604]TEL legally changed his surname to Shaw in 1927. After the 1928 edition of Who's Who, his was in the directory as Thomas Edward Shaw. See the image shown to the left, a photocopy of Who was Who 1929-1940. Next, let us see an encyclopedia. According to the Philip O'Brien's bibliography, the very first encyclopedia which had TEL's entry was the 13th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, pulished in 1926. Unfortunately, I could not find the 13th edion, but the 14th edition published in 1929, with a TEL article written by D. G. H. [D. G. Hogarth] and a contributor X. Because Hogarth died on 6 November 1927, I consider that Mr X amend the article written by Hogarth for the 13th edition. See the following image. Again, Aug. 15 1888 is his birth date. 
In Dictionary of National Biography 1931-1940, published in 1949, Sir Ronald Storrs (1881-1955) wrote: Lawrence, Thomas Edward 1888-1935, known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ was born at Tremadoc, North Wales, 15 August 1888, the second in a family of five sons.Napoleon's Birthday Fifteenth of August is the birthday of Napoleon Bonaparte. B. H. Liddell Hart mentioned that: Lawrence, now on the threshold of his first Arabia campaign, was exactly two years older than Napoleon Bonaparte in his first Italian campaign - for both were born on the same day of the year, August 15th. [‘T. E. Lawrence’ In Arabia and After, London: Jonathan Cape, 1934, pp.120-21] Liddell Hart wrote this biography with the help of TEL, so that his birthdate information must have been offered from TEL himself. Another Napoleon reference was found on a memory of a school friend, Ven. Edgar Francis Hall (1888-1987). He wrote that: This means that E. F. Hall must have been born on 14 August, the day before Napoleon's birthday. Yes, Who was Who 1981-1990 gives evidence of that (see the image above). E. F. Hall's memory suggests that TEL enjoyed himself having the same birthday as Napoleon in his school days. In the armed forces There is another evidence. TEL himself wrote about his fortieth birthday to Charlotte Shaw on 15 August 1928, when he worked in the RAF base in Miranshah, now Afghanistan: Lots of people tell me I am forty, and should be deciding to do somehing with my life. Help! It is comfortable, I think, on the whole, to be getting older... [Letters III, p.151]This means that his coworkers in Miranshah considered his birthday was 15th. Please allow me to add my memory here. When ‘Lawrence of Arabia, The Life, The Legend ’ exhibition was held in the Imperial War Museum, London in 2005-2006, his Tank Corps Enlistment Certificate was exhibited. I remember that the date of his birth was filled out on it as 15 August 1888, the same date as on the birth certificate. From all of the above evidences, it follows that birth date of TEL was 15 August 1888, beyond any doubt ... for now. |
My earliest recollection of Lawrence is that of sitting by his side in the Lower Fouth at school, establishing to my satisfaction that I was exactly one day his senior in age, to be met by the retort that this was unfortunate, since it prevented me from being born, as he was, on Napoleon's birthday. Thus early was the future taking shape. [Friends, p.44]
| Sixteenth August [16.8.1888] — His real birthday |
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Photo shown to the left, taken by YAGITANI Ryoko in 1983. ♣ Images of TEL's grave in the Web
♣ Editors of correspondence made notes on TEL's birthday.
♣ TEL said he had never seen his birth certificate in 1927, I wonder if it is true. He may have had an opportunity to submit that. Because of his birth at Tremadoc, he won a Welsh scholarship, a Meyricke Exhibition from Jesus College, Oxford. I suspect that the college must have required a paper to prove the place he was born. He submitted his birth certificate, though, didn't read that? |
His Mother's Statement![T. E. Lawrence's gravestone [1983]](imagejpg/tel_grave04.jpg)
Now let's examine the evidence of the sixteenth day.If you visit the grave of T. E. Lawrence in Moreton, Dorset, you'll see the gravestone made by Eric Kennington, settled after summer of 1936. It reads BORN 16 AUGUST 1888 DIED 19 MAY 1935 This gravestone was ordered by TEL's mother and elder brother Robert. Mother should be a very reliable witness — his mother, Sarah Lawrence wrote that: My second son, Thomas Edward was born at Tremadoc, Carnarvonshire, in the early hours of August 16th, 1888. [Friends, p.25]Lawrence's Statement His mother said it was 16th. The son, TEL knew that? I've tried to find another evidence — Yes, he knew. There were some tips in books of his correspondence.
T. E. Lawrence wrote that August 15 was NOT the real date, and 16th was his birthday. His mother confirmed that. Lawrence's Baptism record in 1904 On 5 January 2017, I found the baptism record of T. E. Lawrence, at page 95 of the parish register of St. Aldates Church, Oxford. He was baptized by the rector, Rev. Alfred Christopher on 26 March 1904 at the age of fifteen. The birth date was added as “born August 16 1888”. This is the most reliable record of his birthday. 
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| Conclusion |
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All things considered, he had two of birthdays: 15 August 1888 — his official birthday, registred incorrectly by his father; the day for filling out public papers, or for claiming a connection with Napoleon. 16 August 1888 — his real birthday, confirmed by his mother, his gravestone and the parish register; the day for celebrating. Now the latter date is accepted as the date of his birth, as it is written in A Touch of Genius: The Life of T. E. Lawrence by Malcolm Brown & Julia Cave: The accepted date of Lawrence's birth is 16 August — he was apparently born in the early hours of that day — but his birth certificate distinctly assigns it to the 15th, a date which Lawrence himself was proud to claim, it being the birthday of Napoleon. [GENIUS, p.4]Since the birth certificate is often used as a proof of one's identity, British people (just as it is in Japan) have to use the same date as on them, when the date of birth is needed on public documents. TEL used different days according to the circumstances, and could manage it successfully. I suggest that this could affect his character, made him rather resourceful, capable of dealing with difficult situations. |
| The Dates on Encyclopedia Articles |
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♣ Though there are so many mistakes in encyclopedias and dictionaries in Japanese , I do not touth about them here. (In Japanese page, I will.)
I'd like to mention one thing, about the Japanese version of Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1974. It has an article of TEL with the birth date of 1888.08.15/6, thanks to Professor NAKANO Yoshio, the contributor for the Macropaedia volume. NAKANO, a well known biographer of TEL in Japan, did not translate the article in the English version, but wrote a very fulfilling one for Japanese readers. I believe that his article is one of the best TEL articles in encyclopedias in the world. ♣ It is strange why even Stanley Weintraub wrote it was 15th. I must say that Robert Graves did a good job for Collier's Encyclopedia in 1969.
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Yes, he was actually born on 16th of August. However, this may be special information for T. E. Lawrence enthusiasts who read TEL's letters and biographies. People who have no special interest in TEL, may look up him on a biographical dictionary or an encyclopedia? We have arleady checked some of reference books with the 15th date. What books or when did they accept the 16th day? I have tried everything possible to look TEL up in encyclopedias in English, published after 1926, here in Japan. Fortunately, some public libraries in Saitama and Tokyo keep out-of date encyclopedias in their bookshelves. Thanks to those libraries! The following is a list of books I reached. I inform you that some of years books published are based on Philip O'Brien's bibliography.
To my surprise, no Encyclopaedia of paper edition, except the 1969 Collier's Encyclopedia told us it was 16th August when TEL was born. Due to this, if you rely such reference books to confirm T. E. Lawrence's birthday, there is a high probability that you'll be given the date of 15th. On the other hand, Online edition of the Oxford DNB and Britannica amended the date. There is still room for addition in this list. If you find any reference book to add here, please let me know.  HOME PAGEThis page's URL: http://yagitani.na.coocan.jp/en/tpc_en15.htm
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