OUSELEY, Sir William (1769-1842), Orientalist, was the eldest son of Captain Ralph Ouseley, of an old Irish family, and was born in Monmouthshire in 1769. After a private education he went to Paris, in 1787, to perfect himself in French, and in the following year became cornet in the 8th regiment of dragoons. After obtaining the grade of lieutenant he, on the conclusion of the campaign of 1794, sold his commission in order to devote his attention to the study of Oriental literature, especially Persian. In 1795 he published Persian Miscellanies·, in 1797, Oriental Collections ; in 1799, Epitome of the Ancient History of Persia·, in 1801, Tales of Bakthyar and Observations on Some Medals and Gems; and in 1804, The Oriental Geography of Ebn Haukal. He received the degree of LL.D. from the university of Dublin in 1797, and in 1800 he was knighted by the Marquis Cornwallis. On his brother, Sir Gore Ouseley, being appointed ambassador to Persia in 1810, Sir William accompanied him as secretary. He returned to England in 1813, and in 1819-23 published, in three volumes, Travels in Various Countries of the East, especially Persia, in 1810, 1811, and 1812. He also published editions of the Travels and Arabian Proverbs of Burckhardt. He was a member of various learned societies, and contributed a number of important papers to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature. He died at Boulogne in September 1842.