William Gifford Palgrave (; 24 January 1826 – 30 September 1888) was an English priest, soldier, traveller, and Arabist. Early life and education Palgrave was born in Westminster. He was the son of Sir Francis Palgrave (born Jewish, converted to Anglican) and Elizabeth Turner, daughter of the banker Dawson Turner. His brothers were Francis Turner Palgrave, Inglis Palgrave and Reginald Palgrave. He was educated at Charterhouse School, then occupying its original site near Smithfield, and under the head-mastership of Dr. Saunders, afterwards Dean of Peterborough. Among other honours he won the school gold medal for classical verse, and proceeded to Trinity College, Oxford, where he obtained a scholarship, graduating First Class Lit. Hum., Second Class Math., 1846. Early overseas travel and conversion to Catholicism He went straight from college to India, and served for a time in the 8th Bombay Native Infantry, H.I.C. Shortly after this he became a Roman Catholic, was ordained a priest, joined the order of the Jesuits and served as a member of the order in India, Rome, and in Syria, where he acquired a colloquial command of Arabic. He convinced his superiors to support a mission to the interior of Arabia, which at that time was terra incognita to the rest of the world. He also gained the support of the French emperor, Napoleon III, representing to him that better knowledge of Arabia would benefit French imperialistic schemes in Africa and the Middle East. Syria and Middle Eastern travels Palgrave then returned to Syria, where he assumed the identity of a travelling Syrian physician. Stocking his bags with medicines and small trade goods, and accompanied by one servant, he set off for Najd, in north-central Arabia. He traveled as a Muslim. The service he would do for the Society of Jesus and the French empire would be as a spy, not a missionary. Palgrave became friendly with Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud while in Najd. Faisal's son and heir apparent, Abdullah bin Faisal, asked Palgrave to get him strychnine. Palgrave believed that Abdullah wanted it to poison his father. Palgrave was accused of espionage and was almost executed for his Christian beliefs. Later life and death After travelling for a year from Syria, through Najd, and on to Bahrain and Oman, he returned to Europe, where he wrote a narrative of his travels. This narrative became a bestseller and has been reprinted many