#OnThisDay

T. E. Lawrence was born 16 August 1888.  Lawrence’s career was varied, with stints as a British Army officer, an archaeologist, a diplomat and a military theorist, as well as being a gifted writer. From 1907 to 1910 he read History at Jesus College, Oxford, graduating with a First Class degree. At the end of his academic studies Lawrence was offered a chance to join D. G. Hogarth’s expedition, with the British Museum, to northern Syria. Before embarking for Syria Lawrence studied Arabic in Beirut. Lawrence also briefly worked with Flinders Petrie in Egypt in 1912 at the ancient necropolis of Tarkhan. The site is believed to date back to 3100BC and the early Egypt Dynastic period, whilst excavating here Petrie discovered 2,000 tombs, most belonging to common Egyptians.

But, what connects Lawrence of Arabia with egg fraud, an American ‘Chicken of Tomorrow’ contest, a Viking settlement at York, Sigmund Freud and a letter written to a son in 1618?

Listen to the podcast on Chickens to discover more!

Or why not check out our magazine post on the history of the cock-fight!