Eduard Gibbon

Edward Gibbon (Edward Gibbon, in some Russian translations Eduard; 1737, near London — 1794, Lausanne) was an English historian, essayist, and member of the House of Commons of the British Parliament. He is known for his magnum opus The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), first published in 6 volumes between 1776 and 1789 and since then repeatedly reissued and translated. Gibbon’s History is a classic not only of historical scholarship but also of world literature. In the original six volumes, the author covers the period from 98 to 1590: the heyday of the Roman Empire, the history of early Christianity and its establishment as the state religion of Rome, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rise of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane and the fall of Byzantium, as well as a discussion of the ruins of Ancient Rome.

He was born in Putney on April 27, 1737. He was educated at home and also attended private schools; in 1748–1750 he studied at Westminster School. Poor health prevented him from attending school regularly, so his education was obtained largely on his own, from books, an enormous number of which he read.

Gibbon’s memoirs (Memoirs of my life and writings) and letters provide rich material for his biography. The historian belonged to an ancient family from which, however, he inherited “neither glory nor shame.” Among Gibbon’s nearest ancestors, his intelligent grandfather, who successfully managed extensive commercial enterprises, was especially notable. His father engaged in agriculture with very little success. Gibbon’s childhood, frail by nature, was rather unsettled: ill health hindered systematic study, but it helped, by confining the child for long periods to bed or to his room, to develop in him a love of reading. The boy was fascinated by travel and became well acquainted with the history of the East. The result of this was an attempt, at the age of sixteen, to write “The Age of Sesostris.”

When he entered Oxford University in 1752,