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Gertrude Bell

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Adventurer

The Resume

    (July 14, 1868-July 12, 1926)
    Born in Country Durham, England, United Kingdom
    Traveler/mountaineer/author/archaeologist/spy/political administrator
    Wrote 'Syria: The Desert and the Sown' (1907), 'Amurath to Amurath' (1911) and 'The Palace and Mosque at Ukhaider' (1917)
    Adviser to the British High Commission in Baghdad
    Founder of the Baghdad Archeological Museum

Why she might be annoying:

    Despite being deeply involved in politics herself, she felt women were not ready to vote and headed the Anti-Suffrage League.
    She helped draw up the borders of Iraq and put the Sunni minority in power over the Shiite majority, creating decades of conflict.
    After lobbying with T. E. Lawrence to have Faisal I placed on the throne in Baghdad, she said, 'I'll never engage in creating kings again. It's too great a strain.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She earned an honors degree in history from Oxford in only two years.
    She was fluent in Arabic, Persian, French and German as well as English.
    Against European opposition, she insisted that antiquities excavated in Iraq would stay in the country.
    She was the first woman to work for British military intelligence.
    She had so much influence over King Faisal, she was called 'the uncrowned Queen of Iraq.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 36 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 22 Votes: 31.82% Annoying