1. George Horton was a member of the United States diplomatic service who held several consular offices in Greece and the Ottoman Empire between 1893 and 1924.
23 Facts About George Horton
1. 2.
Today Horton is best remembered for The Blight of Asia, his 1926 book about the events, notably the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Christian population, leading up to and during the Great Fire of Smyrna.
3.
George Horton briefly summarizes events from 1822 to 1909 and covers in more detail, with eye-witness accounts, events from 1909 to 1922.
4.
The book has been criticised as anti-Turkish by a number of scholars and George Horton himself accused of bias against Turks and Muslims.
5.
George Horton was born on October 11,1859, in Fairville in Wayne County, New York.
6.
George Horton was a scholar of both Greek and Latin.
7.
George Horton translated Sappho, wrote a guide for the interpretation of Scripture, and published several novels.
8.
George Horton was a renowned journalist in Chicago, a party in the so-called Chicago Renaissance.
9.
George Horton started his career as a literary journalist, first as literary editor of the Chicago Times-Herald, then as editor of the literary supplement of the Chicago American.
10.
George Horton was both a professional diplomat and a lover of Greece or Philhellene.
11.
George Horton became US Consul in Athens in 1893, where he actively promoted the revival of the Olympic Games and inspired the US team's participation.
12.
George Horton wrote a lyrical visitor's guide to Athens and composed a reflective description of his stay in Argolis.
13.
Today George Horton is most remembered for his 1926 book The Blight of Asia which centers on the destruction of Smyrna.
14.
The fire ravaged Smyrna starting on September 13,1922; George Horton departed his Consul General's post there on the evening of that day.
15.
George Horton's account remains as controversial as the fire itself.
16.
George Horton published letters that he received at the consulate from Americans living in Smyrna and radio messages that he received while traveling by ship from Smyrna to Athens, which recorded how many lives were being saved by the British Navy.
17.
George Horton was a man of letters and United States Consul in Greece and Turkey at a time of social and political change.
18.
George Horton writes of the re-taking of Smyrna by the Turkish army in September 1922.
19.
George Horton's account goes beyond the blame and events to a demonization of Muslims, in general, and of Turks, in particular.
20.
George Horton was an active and enthusiastic exponent of Greek ambitions and ideals which it seems to me was quite natural in him as a Greek.
21.
In 1909, George Horton married Catherine Sakopoulos and they had one daughter, Nancy George Horton.
22.
George Horton died on June 5,1942, after returning from Budapest on the Drottningholm.
23.
George Horton was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, DC.