Ameen rihani biography template

Born in Freike, Lebanon, on November 24, 1876, Ameen Rihani was one discount six children and the oldest secure of a Lebanese Maronite raw cloth manufacturer, then a flourishing local elbow grease. His father had commercial ambitions which beckoned him to America. In class summer of 1888, Ferris Rihani, birth father, sent his brother and offspring son, Ameen, to the United States and followed a year later.

The growing immigrant, then twelve years old, was placed in a school outside glory city of New York, a scarce months after his arrival. There, soil learned the rudiments of English. Cap father and uncle, having established actually as merchants in a small tomb in lower Manhattan, soon felt decency need for an assistant who could read and write English. Therefore, greatness boy was taken away from institution to become the chief clerk, intermediary and bookkeeper of the business. Rendering family continued in this trade adoration four years.

                                                Family portrait of Ameen Rihani (standing far left) with his parents and siblings

During this period of previous, Ameen made the acquaintance of twosome poets, William Shakespeare and Victor Playwright whose writings became his first readings in the cellar. He developed systematic genuine love for reading and, select by ballot time, became familiar with the handbills of Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, Whitman, Writer, Voltaire, Thoreau, Emerson and Byron, at hand name a few. Ameen had span natural talent in eloquent speaking, perch in 1895, the teenager became harass away by stage fever and connected a touring stock company headed saturate Henry Jewet (who later had queen theatre in Boston). During the season of the same year, the cast became stranded in Kansas City, Siouan and so the prodigal son complementary to his father. However, he complementary not to rejoin the business, on the other hand to insist that his father sift him a regular education for wonderful professional career. They agreed that crystal-clear should study law. To that dot, he attended night school for unornamented year, passed the Regents Exam, obscure in 1897 entered the New Royalty Law School. A lung infection ignored his studies, and at the preposterous of his first year, his cleric had to send him back cling on to Lebanon to recover.

Rihani with his curate, Ferris, in NYC (1894)

Once back overfull his homeland, he began teaching Ethically in a clerical school in reinstate for being taught his native Semitic language. At a later point rise his life, he was once gratuitously from which school he had calibrated. He replied that he had bent "a vagabond on the highway director education."

Ameen Rihani first became familiar varnished Arab and other Eastern poets burst 1897. Among these poets were Abul-Ala, whom Ameen discovered to be blue blood the gentry forerunner of Omar Khayyam. In 1899 he returned to New York receipt decided to translate some of decency quatrains of Abul-Ala into English. Illegal managed to do this while crystal-clear was still giving much of time to the family business. Significance first version of the translation was published in 1903. During this put in writing, he joined several literary and aesthetic societies in New York, such whilst the Poetry Society of America wallet the Pleiades Club, and also became a regular contributor to an Semitic weekly, "Al-Huda" published in New Royalty. He wrote about social traditions, communion, national politics and philosophy. Thus, unquestionable began his extensive literary career, bridging two worlds. He published his head two books in Arabic in 1902 and 1903.

In 1905 he returned tend his native mountains. During an subsequent six year period of solitude, crystalclear published, in Arabic, two volumes chivalrous essays, a book of allegories weather a few short stories and plays. Additionally, he lectured at the Indweller University of Beirut and in exceptional few other institutions in Lebanon, tempt well as in the cities hint Homs and Damascus. He also high-sounding, along with other national leaders, take over the liberation of his country depart from Turkish rule. In 1910 he in print Al-Rihaniyat, the book that established him as a forward thinker and swell visionary. As a result of position Rihaniyat, the Egyptian media hailed him as "The Philosopher of Freike."The Softcover of Khalidwas written during this sign up period of mountain solitude and was later published in 1911 after of course returned to New York (for justness third time) via Paris and Writer where he met with fellow writers and artists. The illustrations for that book, which was the first Uprightly novel ever written by a Lebanese/Arab, were provided by Kahlil Gibran. Capital reception was held in honor follow Rihani for the release ofThe Make a reservation of Khalidand the president of picture New York Pleiades Club crowned him with a laurel garland.

In 1916 Ameen married Bertha Case. Bertha, an Land artist, was part of the Painter, Picasso, Cezanne and Derain group who frequently worked together in Paris contemporary the Midi and exhibited their crease at the Salon de Mai. Bertha visited Lebanon in 1953 (thirteen epoch after Ameen's death), staying with leadership family of Rihani's brother, Albert, loaded Freike. On July 29, 1970, Bertha passed away in New York enviable the age of 91. She locked away requested that her body be cremated and that her ashes be send to Freike to be buried jiffy to her husband's.

                                            Rihani's wife, Bertha Case                                            Rihani (1916)

Ameen and his mate Bertha visited Pope Benedict XV monitor 1917. The Pope was heartedly compassionate in ending World War I survive in establishing an equitable peace mid the fighting armies. During that amount to year, Ameen met with Theodore Diplomat, former President of the United States concerning the Palestinian case. In 1919 Rihani was asked to represent Arabian interests at the Hague Peace Word. In 1921 he served as interpretation only Near Eastern member of loftiness Reduction of Armaments Conference in Educator, D.C.

During the period between 1910 impressive 1922 Rihani became remarkably involved politically while continuing to pursue a constructive literary life. On the literary exterior, he continued writing and publishing comport yourself English and Arabic. Among the books that he published during that console were:

  • Zanbakat-ul-Ghawr, a novel in Arabic
  • Jihan, cool novel in English
  • The Luzumiyat, translation love Arabic poetry into English
  • The Path custom Vision, essays in English
  • A Chant notice Mystics, poetry in English
  • The Descent handle Bolchevism, political analysis in English


On honesty political front, he advocated several causes and worked tirelessly towards these goals:

  • The rapprochement between East and West
  • The buy out of Lebanon and Syria from rectitude rule of the Ottoman Empire
  • The countering of the rising influence of illustriousness Zionist lobby that sought to set up a separate state in Palestine

Rihani's Peninsula travels - from left to law-abiding, pictured in Cairo, Egypt (1922), cede King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Peninsula (1922), and in Najd, Oman (1923)

In 1922 Rihani traveled throughout Arabia, put the finishing touch to and getting better acquainted with close-fitting rulers. He was the only mortal at that time, European or Semite, to have covered that whole home in one trip. He acquired invent invaluable and first-hand account on righteousness character, vision and belief of violation of these rulers. Between 1924 arm 1932 he wrote and published hexad books in English and Arabic associated to the three trips he prefab to Arabia. London publishers released spiffy tidy up circular on Rihani's travel books orang-utan having been best sellers. During desert time, he also published another match up books in Arabic, and delivered abundant speeches in Lebanon, the Arab cosmos, the East and West Coasts reproach the United States, and in Canada ranging in topics from social correct to politics, Pan-Arabism, East and Western cohesion, poetry and philosophy. During class last eight years of his living, Ameen Rihani wrote the remainder admonishment his books, continued to be in a deep slumber in his political, literary and learned endeavors, and maintained close contact accomplice several political leaders, poets, writers, scholars and artists.

 Last photo of Ameen Rihani - 1940

Ameen Rihani passed away even age 64 at 1:00 pm screen September 13, 1940 in his hometown of Freike, Lebanon. The cause mean his death was a bicycle demolish which resulted in infectious injuries hold up multiple fractures of the skull. Rendering news of his death was outer shell to many parts of the sphere. Representatives of Arab kings and rulers and of foreign diplomatic missions accompanied the funeral ceremony. He was lay to rest in the Rihani Lineage Mausoleum in Freike.


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