Andrew Archibald PatonFRGS[1] (19 March 1811, in Edinburgh – 5 April 1874) was a British diplomat,
orientalist, and author of travel books and novels.[2]
Biography
At the age of twenty-five he landed at Naples, and walked thence, with staff and knapsack, to Vienna. Thereafter travelling up and down among the Eastern European states, and also in Syria and Egypt, he acquired an accurate and extensive insight into the manners, customs, and political life of the East, which, with descriptions of the countries themselves, he communicated to the public in an interesting series of books.[2]
From 1839 to 1843 he was employed in Egypt and then Syria. In 1843 he was appointed acting consul-general in
Serbia. In 1858 he became vice-consul at
Missolonghi in Greece. In 1859 he was transferred to
Lübeck and in May 1862 appointed consul at
Ragusa and at
Bocca di Cattaro.[2]
His book Highlands and Islands of the Adriatic gives an interesting account of Signor
Arnieri, the principal land owner of the island of
Korčula.[3] Paton's book Researches on the Danube and the Adriatic mentions the significance given by the people of Ragusa to the mathematician
Marino Ghetaldi.[4] Paton's literary work is of interest for his book on the life and work of
Stendhal and published correspondence with Sir
Austen Henry Layard.