David Urquhart (1 July 180516 May 1877) was a British diplomat, writer and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament for Stafford from 1847 to 1852. He also was an early promoter in the United Kingdom of the hammam (known to westerners as the "Turkish bath") which he came across in Morocco and Turkey .

Early life

Urquhart was born at Braelangwell, Cromarty, Scotland. His father died while he was a boy. Urquhart was also the self-proclaimed designer of the Circassian national flag (which was adopted as the flag of Adygea in 1992).

Urquhart later publicly accused Palmerston, the head of British foreign policy, of being bribed by Russia. This view was constantly promoted in the London magazines he published. Among the regular authors of his publications was Karl Marx, who fully supported Urquhart's views on Palmerston. Personally, Karl Marx himself, in correspondence with his friend Engels, considered Urquhart a "form of maniac" in his accusations of Palmerston and the worship of the Turks.

In 1838, Urquhart published a book, Spirit of the East, where he examines Turkey and Greece, while also drawing on work previously done by Arthur Lumley Davids.

The action of the United Kingdom in the Crimean War provoked indignant protests from Urquhart, who contended that Turkey was in a position to fight her own battles without the assistance of other powers. In 1856 (with finance from ironmaster George Crawshay) he became the owner of the Free Press (renamed the Diplomatic Review in 1866), which numbered among its contributors the socialist Karl Marx. In 1860, he published his book on Lebanon.

thumb|Advertisement showing use of term Irish bath for early Victorian Turkish bathAlthough their first bath was unsuccessful, Barter persevered and, by copying the hot dry air baths of the ancient Roman thermae, built the "Improved, or Irish bath". This later became known as the Victorian Turkish bath to distinguish it from the significantly different Islamic hammam, frequently referred to as a Turkish bath by travel writers who first discovered it there.

In 1857, Urquhart built the first such bath in England at Broughton Lane, Manchester, in conjunction with the local foreign affairs committee. More than 30 of the first Victorian Turkish baths in England were built by members of these committees under Urquhart's direction, and the exemplar baths at 76 Jermyn Street, London, were built by the London & Provincial Turkish Bath Co Ltd, also under his direction. This type of bath quickly spread round the Empire, the United States, and parts of Europe, where in Germany and elsewhere it is still known as Das Römisch-Irische Bad.

Personal life

In 1854, Urquhart married Harriet Angelina Fortescue, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat.

  • England, France, Russia, and Turkey. 3rd edition. London: J. Ridgeway and Son, 1835.
  • The Spirit of the East. in two volumes. 2nd edition. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, 1839.
  • The Crisis. France in Face of the Four Powers. Second Edition. Translated from the French. Glasgow: John Smith and Son, 1840.
  • "Rupture of Alliance with France." Diplomacy and Commerce vol. 5. Glasgow: John Smith & Son, 1840.
  • The Sulphur Monopoly. T. Brettell, 1840.
  • A Fragment of History of Serbia. Verlag nicht ermittelbar, 1843.
  • Annexation of Texas: A Case of War Between England and the United States. London: James Maynard, 1844.
  • England in the Western Hemisphere; the United States and Canada. London: James Maynard, 1844.
  • Reflections on Thoughts and Things, Moral, Religious, and Political. London: James Maynard, 1844.
  • The Pillars of Hercules; or, A Narrative of Travels in Spain and Morocco in 1848. in 2 volumes. London: Richard Bentley, 1850.
  • The Mystery of the Danube: Showing how Through Secret Diplomacy that River Has Been Closed, Exportation from Turkey Arrested, and the Re-opening of the Isthmus of Suez Prevented. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1851.
  • The Crown of Denmark Disposed of by a Conscientious Minister Through a Fraudulent Treaty with the Treaty of the 8th of May 1852. London: T. & W. Boone, March 1853.
  • Recent Events in the East: Being a Reprint of Mr. Urquhart's Contributions to the Morning Advertiser, During the Autumn of 1853. London: Trübner & Co., 1854.
  • The War of Ignorance and Collusion; Its Progress and Results: a Prognostication and a Testimony. London: Trübner & Co., 1854.
  • Familiar Words, as affecting the character of Englishmen and the Fate of England. London: Trübner & Co., 1855.
  • The Home Face of the “Four Points". London: Trübner & Co., 1855.
  • Public Opinion and Its Organs. London: Trübner & Co., 1855.
  • The Effect of the Misuse of Familiar Words on the Character of Men and the Fate of Nations. London: Trübner & Co., 1856.
  • The Question is Mr. Urquhart a Tory Or a Radical? Answered by His Constitution for the Danubian Principalities. Sheffield: Isaac Ironside, 1856.
  • The Queen and the Premier: A Statement of Their Struggle and Its Results. 2nd Edition. London: David Bryce, 1857.
  • The Sraddha: The Keystone of the Brahminical, Buddhistic, and Arian Religions, as Illustrative of the Dogma and Duty of Adoption Among the Princes and People of India. London: David Bryce, 1857.
  • Mr. Urquhart on the Italian War…to Which is Added a Memoir on Europe Drawn up for the Instruction of the Present Emperor of Russia. London: Robert Hardwicke, 1859.
  • Selections from “Progress of Russia in the West, North and South." Reprinted from Stereotype edition. 1959.
  • The Lebanon: (Mount Souria): A History and a Diary. 2 volumes. London: Thomas Cautley Newby, 1860.
  • The New Heresy: Proselytism Substituted for Righteousness, 2 letters to the Bishop of Oxford. Whitefriars: Free Press Office, September 1862.
  • The Right of Search: Two Speeches by David Urquhart. London: Hardwicke, 1862.
  • Manual of the Turkish Bath. Heat a Mode of Cure and a Source of Strength for Men and Animals. London: John Churchill and Sons, 1865.
  • Conscience in Respect to Public Affairs: A Correspondence. Wyman & Sons, 1867.
  • Russia, If Not Everywhere, Nowhere: A Correspondence. London: Diplomatic Review Office, 1867.
  • The Abyssinian War: The Contingency of Failure. London: Diplomatic Review Office, December 1868.
  • Effect on the World of the Restoration of the Canon Law: Being a Vindication of the Catholic Church Against a Priest. London: Diplomatic Review Office, 1869.
  • The Military Oath and Christianity. London: Diplomatic Review Office, 1869.
  • The Military Strength of Turkey. London: Effingham Wilson Royal Exchange, 1869.
  • The Four Wars of the French Revolution. London: Diplomatic Review Office, 1874.
  • "Naval Power Suppressed by the Maritime States: Crimean War." Reprinted from Diplomatic Review. London: Diplomatic Review Office, 1874.

See also

  • Eastern Question
  • Mission of the Vixen

References

Bibliography

  • , 2004.