CHENERY

chenery, thomas (1826-1884), english scholar and editor of _the times_, was born in 1826 at barbados. he was educated at eton and caius college, cambridge. having been called to the bar, he went out to constantinople as _the times_ correspondent just before the crimean war, and it was under the influence there of algernon smythe (afterwards lord strangford) that he first turned to those philological studies in which he became eminent. after the war he returned to london and wrote regularly for _the times_ for many years, eventually succeeding delane as editor in 1877. he was then an experienced publicist, particularly well versed in oriental affairs, an indefatigable worker, with a rapid and comprehensive judgment, though he lacked delane's intuition for public opinion. it was as an orientalist, however, that he had meantime earned the highest reputation, his knowledge of arabic and hebrew being almost unrivalled and his gift for languages exceptional. in 1868 he was appointed lord almoner's professor of arabic at oxford, and retained his position until he became editor of _the times_. he was one of the company of revisers of the old testament. he was secretary for some time to the royal asiatic society, and published learned editions of the arabic classic _the assemblies of al-hariri_ and of the _machberoth ithiel_. he died in london on the 11th of february 1884.