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William Richard ("Haji") Williamson was an English adventurer who became an oil company representative in the Persian Gulf. == Early life == Williamson’s early life was packed with adventure. Born in Bristol in 1872 and educated at Clifton High School, he left school at the age of 13 to enlist on his uncle’s tea-clipper bound for Australia and the United States. When the vessel docked at San Diego, Williamson jumped ship and found work on a farm near Los Angeles, then with his aunt on her homestead. Intending to prospect for gold, Williamson acquired a mule and shotgun and travelled to the Nevadas where he acquired a mine. When this venture ended in failure, Williamson went to San Francisco and enlisted on a cargo ship bound for Bordeaux. Following a brief visit to France, Williamson returned to California via the Panama Canal and undertook various activities: investing unsuccessfully in a railway company, taking part in a vaudeville act and trying his luck as an amateur boxer but it was not long before he returned to the sea. Williamson became fourth mate on a whaler which sailed to the Bering Straits returning again to San Francisco after an eight-month voyage. He then enlisted for a trading voyage to the South Seas and settled for a time in the Caroline Islands, trading in sea-cucumbers. But he was arrested for selling rifles to rebel tribesmen and was incarcerated in a Manila jail. After bribing a guard, Williamson escaped to the American consul Alexander Russell Webb and boarded a British ship bound for Hong Kong. He pursued a seafaring career as quartermaster of the ''SS Chusan''. Then, after a brief sojourn in Bombay, he boarded the ''SS Siam'' for the British colony of Aden. On his arrival, he joined the Aden Constabulary. Already interested in Islam, he undertook Islamic study in Aden and, after a year had passed, he made his formal shahada, was circumcised and changed his name to Abdullah Fadhil. This did not go down well with the Aden authorities who packed him off to India where Williamson was discharged from the Constabulary.〔Hope, Stanton, ''Arabian Adventurer, the Story of Haji Williamson'', (Robert Hale) 1951, ASIN: B004U20XYW〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Richard Williamson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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