Thomas Edward Lawrence CB DSO (16 August 188819 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, military officer, and diplomat. He was renowned for his liaison role during the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign and the
Arab Revolt against
Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18. The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as
Lawrence of Arabia—a title used for
the 1962 film based on his
First World War activities.