William Dalrymple

Author and historian · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1965 · age 61

William Benedict Hamilton-Dalrymple is a Scottish historian, art historian, indologist, curator, broadcaster, critic and author.

William Dalrymple is read about 499 times a day, in 24 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 8 November 2026

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A life in dates

2023Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward2020“The economic figures speak for themselves. In 1600, when the East India Company was founded, Britain was generating 1.8% of the world’s GDP, while India was producing 22.5%.”In their words11 June 2020In The GuardianRead the whole statement

“Robert Clive was a vicious asset-stripper. His statue has no place on Whitehall.”In their words11 June 2020In The GuardianRead the whole statement

2018President's MedalAward2012“The current Western puppet Hamid Karzai is from the same sub-tribe as Shah Shuja, who was a British puppet in 1839, It is the same war under slightly different flags.”In their words12 September 2012ZeenewsRead the whole statement

“I am a terrible linguist. It`s a great shame that I have not learnt Urdu and Persian.”In their words12 September 2012ZeenewsRead the whole statement

2006“Zafar always put huge emphasis on his role as a protector of the Hindus and the moderator of Muslim demands.”In their wordsp. 446Read the whole statement

2002“In the course of my travels I often came across the assumption that intense spirituality was somehow the preserve of what many call 'the mystic east'...”In their words27 May 2002In The Long Search, BBCRead the whole statement

Mungo Park MedalAward1995Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureAward1965Born20 March 1965

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William Dalrymple

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Dalrymple (left) with Esther Freud (centre) and Hanan Ashrawi at PalFest 2008.

In their own words 4

William Dalrymple

4 statements, newest first

At a time when the British showed no particular enthusiasm for cleanliness, Indian women for example introduced British men to the delights of regular bathing.
William Dalrymple - White Mughals, Own words
I am basically writing for a general audience rather than an academic audience. So, I explain stuff, I don’t assume knowledge of any of this on the part of the reader.
In Amrita Ghosh, Author in Focus: An Interview with Dalrymple, Cerebration.Org., Own words
I am writing definitely primarily for an audience who don’t know India.
In Amrita Ghosh, "Author in Focus: An Interview with Dalrymple"., Own words