George Smith presents first translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Background. George Smith was a working-class apprentice who excelled in banknote engraving before his talent for cuneiform studies was noticed by Samuel Birch. Birch introduced Smith to Sir Henry Rawlinson, leading to Smith's appointment as Senior Assistant in the Assyriology Department in 1870. The Society of Biblical Archaeology, founded in London in 1870 by Birch, served as the venue for Smith's presentations.

The Presentation. In 1872, Smith achieved worldwide fame by reading his translation of the Chaldaean account of the Great Flood before the Society of Biblical Archaeology on 3 December. This presentation involved reading translated fragments of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is recognized as the world's oldest surviving example of narrative literature. The society published proceedings preserving such important papers.

Significance. Smith's work established him as the first to discover and translate the Epic of Gilgamesh. In 1872 he read translated fragments before the Society of Biblical Archaeology, and in 1875 and 1876 he published fuller translations, the latter of which appeared as The Chaldaean Account of Genesis. The 1872 reading brought him worldwide fame through his translation of the Chaldaean account of the Great Flood.