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Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam. Evelyn Kennedy.
The Mathematics Teacher 59 (1966) 2, p. 140-142

Besides being hailed as a poet, Omar Khayyam, during his time, was unequalled in scientific knowledge and achievement in Persia. Many called him King of the Wise.

First American edition of the Rubaiyat was published in Columbus

First American edition of the Rubaiyat was published in Columbus. F.F.D. Albery.
Ohioana Quarterly (1964) (Spring), pp. 3-6

Summary

One of the most interesting literary incidents in the history of Columbus was the publication of the first American edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It was, of course, an unauthorized reprint, but, as it was made in pure admiration of the beauty of Edward FitzGerald’s translation and with no purpose to make money, but only to supply a limited market beyond the easy reach of the London publisher, nobody could have thought ill of the project. In fact, the Columbus edition was a high compliment to the English translator and to the group of Columbus readers as well. The latter knew a good thing when they saw it, and possessed not only a keen sense of the beautiful in literature but also a resourcefulness in making for themselves what they could not otherwise obtain. The story of this incident was some years ago written for The Book-Lover by F. F. D. Albery, one of the group of Columbus admirers of Omar and later a member of the select circle known as “the Omar Khayyam Club of America”. The article appeared in No. 12, May-June 1902, of that magazine.

‘Umar Khayyam as an Arabic poet

‘Umar Khayyam as an Arabic poet. A.S. Tritton.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 27 (1964) 2 (June), pp. 431-433.

Edward FitzGerald

Edward FitzGerald. Maurice Bowra.
Iran. Journal of the Iran Society 1 (1963), p. 1-12

In the nineteenth century, England, despite its reputation for ruthless conventionality, was a happy home for eccentrics, for men who with an almost unconscious confidence pursued their private whims and maintained a curious innocence from the world around them. To this select and agreeable company belonged Edward FitzGerald. He was not, strictly speaking, English, but Anglo-Irish, coming from a family long settled in Ireland but regarding itself as an outpost of English manners and superiority, and confirmed in its belief by an ample income and several large houses. Though FitzGerald lived to be 74, his life was undramatic, and such dramas as befell him he took with a philosophical calm. Even when his father lost his money trying to find coal on his Manchester estate and was declared bankrupt, FitzGerald’s existence was not troubled.