Subseries DJG/15/4 - Thomas William Rhys Davids' Letters

Thomas William Rhys Davids was born in Colchester, Essex, 12 May 1843. He was educated at Brighton School and Breslau University, where he studied Greek and Sanskrit. He held a number of posts in the Ceylon Civil Service, including District Judge and Archaeological Commissioner, 1866-72. He returned to England and became a barrister in 1877 before being appointed Professor of Pali and Buddhist Literature at University College, London, a position he held from 1882-1904. He subsequently became Professor of Comparative Religion at Manchester University in 1905.

Rhys Davids married Caroline Foley in 1894. She was also a Pali scholar. He was a founder and President of the Pali Text Society from 1881-1922, and a founder of the British Academy, 1901. He served as Secretary and Librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1887-1905, and he established the Indian Text Series.

In his retirement, Rhys Davids wrote for the Manchester Guardian and worked on the preparation of a Pali dictionary. He died in Chipstead, Surrey, on 27 December 1922.