"Pali scholar， editor， translator. The son of a British Congregational minister， he rejected his early training as a solicitor， entering the University of Breslau （Germany） to study Sanskrit. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1864， he entered the Ceylon Civil Service. In 1872， he returned to England， and began a legal practice. He was nonetheless more interested in Buddhism， thus beginning a series of translations from the Pali language he had learned in Ceylon. In 1878 his still famous Manual of Buddhism appeared. Following his series of Hibbert Lectures in 1881， he founded the Pali Text Society and embarked on a career of editing and translating that is still virtually unrivaled in Buddhology. In 1882 he assumed the position of Professor of Pali at University College， London. He also worked tirelessly for the Royal Asiatic Society."