Sandford Arthur Strong (10 April 1863 – 18 January 1904) was an English orientalist, art historian, and librarian.
Life
Born in Kensington, London, Strong was the second son of Thomas Banks Strong of the War Office and his wife, Anna Lawson. His elder brother was Thomas Banks Strong, who became Bishop of Ripon and later of Oxford. He entered St Paul's School, London as a foundation scholar in 1877, but remained there for little more than a year. He subsequently worked as a clerk at Lloyd's while attending classes at King's College, London. In 1881, he matriculated with a Hutchinson studentship at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1884 with a third class in Part I of the classical tripos and a second class in Part II the following year. He proceeded to an M.A. in 1890.
Discouraged at Cambridge, Strong moved to Oxford in late 1885, where he served as subkeeper and librarian of the Indian Institute and befriended Max Müller, Archibald Henry Sayce, and Adolf Neubauer. He studied in Paris with Ernest Renan and James Darmesteter, and in Berlin with Eberhard Schrader. In 1895, he was appointed professor of Arabic at University College, London, a largely nominal post. During this period, he taught Persian to Gertrude Bell.
From 1895, Strong served as librarian to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House, concentrating on its works of art. He was also invited to catalogue other collections, including the Duke of Portland's at Welbeck Abbey, the Earl of Pembroke's at Wilton House, and Lord Wantage's at Lockinge. In 1897, he was additionally appointed librarian at the House of Lords.
After a lingering illness, Strong died in London on 18 January 1904 at the age of 40 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery. The Arthur Strong Oriental Library at University College, London was formed around his books, donated by his widow.
Works
Strong's major oriental publications include his edition of the Maha-Bodhi-Vamsa for the Pali Text Society (1891) and the Futah al-Habashah ("Conquest of Abyssinia", 1894) for the Royal Asiatic Society. At his death, he was engaged on the Arabic text of Ibn Arabshah's History of Yakmak, Sultan of Egypt. He studied Sanskrit, Arabic, Pali, Persian, Assyrian hieroglyphics, and Chinese, and contributed reviews to the Athenæum and The Academy.
His art publications include:
- Reproductions of Drawings by the Old Masters in the Collection of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery at Wilton House (1900)
- Preface to Plates of National Gallery Pictures (1901)
- Masterpieces of the Duke of Devonshire's Collection of Pictures (1901)
- Reproductions of Drawings by the Old Masters at Chatsworth (1902)
- Catalogue of Letters and other Historical Documents in the Library of Welbeck (1903)
At the House of Lords, Strong compiled catalogues of the general library and of the law books.
Personal life
In 1897, Strong married Eugénie Sellers, an archaeologist, who survived him. There were no children of the marriage.
