1868-1926

English archeologist who explored the Middle East. Bell graduated from Oxford University. She visited an uncle employed in Tehran, Iran, and anonymously published a collection of essays about her experiences. Fluent in Arabic and Persian, she traveled throughout the turbulent region, meeting leaders and providing political insights to British officials prior to World War I. She wrote several books about her adventures. Bell established and served as director of the Baghdad Museum of Antiquities in Iraq.