Cleopatra's Needle in New York Associates Cleopatra With Julius Caesar

Summary: Cleopatra's Needle in London associates Cleopatra with Julius Caesar as one of two obelisks at the Caesareum, her memorial to her first son's father.

Cleopatra's Needle, which was created in the mid-15th century BCE from pink granite sourced from Aswan quarries in Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt) and later relocated to Alexandria in the first century BCE to adorn Cleopatra's Caesareum, has been sited on Graywacke Knoll, Central Park, Manhattan's Upper East Side, since Saturday, Jan. 22, 1881; Sunday, July 8, 2012, 20:07, image of Cleopatra's Needle, Graywacke Knoll, Central Park, Manhattan's Upper East Side, New York City: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Cleopatra's Needle in London associates Cleopatra with Julius Caesar as one of a pair of obelisks installed at the Caesareum, the last Ptolemaic queen's memorial in Alexandria to her first son's father.

Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) envisaged the Caesareum as a memorial in her hometown of Alexandria to Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE). The father of her first child and oldest son, Ptolemy XV Caesar Philopator Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Kaisar Philopator Philometor, "Ptolemy Caesar, Beloved of his Father, Beloved of his Mother"; 47-30 BCE), known as Caesarion (Ancient Greek: Καισαρίων, Kaisarion, "Little Caesar"), was assassinated in Rome on the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BCE. She incorporated into her plans for the memorial's elegant architecture two obelisks flanking the portal to the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis (Ancient Egyptian: Jwnw, Iunu, "the Pillars"; Coptic: ⲱⲛ, On; Greek: Ἡλιούπολις, Hēlioúpοlis, "City of the Sun"), ancient Egypt's cult center for the mid-day sun deity Ra. Her memorial project called for transporting the massive obelisks from the holy city, located on the east bank of the Nile River, at the start of the southeastern Nile Delta, northward to Alexandria, sited as a seaport on the southeastern Mediterranean seacoast, at the western edge of the Nile Delta.

The two obelisks that featured in Cleopatra 's Caesareum had originated in the mid-15th century BCE during the reign (1479-1425 BCE) of Thutmosis III as sixth pharaoh in Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty (Dynasty XVIII, 18th Dynasty, Dynasty 18;1550/1549-1292 BCE), according to editor, writer and artist Martina D'Alton (Dec. 22, 1946-July 23, 2014) in "The New York Obelisk or How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here," published in the Spring 1993 issue of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The warrior king had ordered the inscribed pink granite monoliths, sourced from quarries at Aswan (Arabic: أسوان, Aswan; Coptic: Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ Souan) in Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt), to celebrate his third jubilee.

Questions remain as to whether Cleopatra arranged for the transport of the obelisks from Heliopolis to Alexandria. Or, was the relocation ordered by Cleopatra's nemesis, Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; Sep. 23, 63 BCE-Aug. 19, 14 CE), also known as Octavian, who replaced the Ptolemaic Egyptian Kingdom with the Roman Empire and whose projects included completing the Caesareum?

A Greek and Latin inscription on the mutilated claw of a bronze support crab that was retrieved in 1877 from the base of the standing member of the pair of obelisks by John Dixon (Jan. 2, 1835-Dec. 28, 1891), civil engineer in charge of transporting the other, felled obelisk, translated as the pair's arrival date during Augustus's reign, according to American classical philologist, archaeologist and epigrapher Augustus C. (Chapman) Merriam (May 30, 1843-January 1895) in "The Caesareum and the Worship of Augustus at Alexandria," published in the 1883 issue of the Transactions of the American Philological Association. Merriam placed 13-12 BCE as the date of the installation of the obelisks in Alexandria.

An alternative assessment suggested missing details confirming Cleopatra's placement of the transport order, according to U.S. naval officer Henry H. (Honychurch) Gorringe (Aug. 11, 1841-July 7, 1885) in Egyptian Obelisks (Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks, Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk -- Historical, page 73), published in 1882. "Revolutions and invasions during the latter part of her reign probably delayed their re-erection," hypothesized Gorringe.

A pair of mid-15th century BCE obelisks was moved from the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis northward in the first century BCE to Alexandria for installation at Cleopatra's Caesareum; one of the pair was toppled by earthquake in the 14th century CE; the toppled obelisk was positioned in London in 1878 while the standing obelisk (shown here) was installed in New York City's Central Park in 1881; 1870 albumen silver print from glass negative attributed to English photographer Francis Frith (Oct. 7, 1822-Feb. 25, 1898); The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art: Public Domain, via Met Museum

At some point after the granite pair's installation one of them fell to the ground. The toppling has been credited to an earthquake in the 14th century. The tremorous culprit could have been the earthquake of 1301, according to Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857-Nov. 23, 1934), Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, in Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks (Chapter VI The Obelisk of Thothmes III at Constantinople, pages 166-167), published in 1926. The 1301 earthquake has been dated alternatively to 1302 or 1304, according to Gorringe (page 108).

Another candidate could have been the Eastern Mediterranean earthquake of Aug. 8, 1303, according to Egyptian seismologist Ahmed Badawy in "Historical Seismicity of Egypt" (pages 122, 127), published in the March 1999 issue of Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica. The August 1303 earthquake has been blamed for shattering the Lighthouse of Alexandria, also called the Pharos of Alexandria (Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, ho Pharos tes Alexandreias), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Credit for the first suggested removal of the standing obelisk to the United States goes to Isma'il Pasha (Arabic: إسماعيل باشا Ismā‘īl Bāshā; Jan. 12, 1830-March 2, 1895), Khedive (Ottoman Turkish: خدیو, hıdiv; Arabic: خديوي, khudaywi) of Egypt from Jan. 19, 1863 to June 26, 1879. He made the suggestion to American journalist William Henry Hurlbert (July 3, 1827-Se/ 4, 1895) during the opening of the Suez Canal on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1869, according to Gorringe (Chapter I Removal of the Alexandrian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' to New York, page 2).

Approximately six years later, in 1875, Isma'il Pasha gave permission for Scottish writer and British Army commander Sir James Edward Alexander (Oct. 16, 1803-April 2, 1885) to advance his plan for relocating the fallen obelisk to London (Gorringe, page 98). Civil engineer John Dixon (Jan. 2, 1835-Dec. 28, 1891) was encharged with the logistics of the Alexandria to London voyage. The standing obelisk's Alexandria to London journey began Friday, Sep. 21, 1877. The obelisk's installation at the Victoria Embankment, between the Golden Jubilee Bridges and the Waterloo Bridge, on the north bank of the River Thames, in central Greater London's City of Westminster, began Thursday, Sep. 12, 1878, and was completed the next day, Friday, Sep. 13 (Gorringe, pages 2, 104-106).

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Gorringe, on leave from the U.S. Navy, assumed the responsibility of overseeing the standing obelisk's Alexandria to New York journey. On Wednesday, Aug. 6, 1879, Gorringe accepted the offer to finance the project made Monday, Aug. 4, 1879, by American businessman and philanthropist William "Billy" Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821-Dec. 8, 1885), oldest son of American railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius "the Commodore" Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794-Jan. 4, 1877) (Gorringe, page 5).

SS Dessoug, an iron steamer built in 1864 in England for the Egyptian government, departed Saturday, June 12, 1880, with the obelisk in its hold and the obelisk's pedestal in its after-hatchway (Gorringe, pages 22, 28). The Dessoug arrived at the Quarantine Station off Staten Island at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 20, 1880. Then, the obelisk-carrying steamship, "after having been granted pratique, moved up the Hudson and moored off Twenty-third Street during the afternoon" (Gorringe, page 30). Visitation of the Dessoug was allowed from July 20 to Friday, July 30. "On one day seventeen hundred and eleven persons visited the vessel between 7A.M. and 8 P.M.," noted Gorringe (page 30).

The obelisk's installation was scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22, 1881, at noon on Graywacke Knoll. The rocky hill sits near the eastern edge of Central Park, southwest of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The Met's main building, at 1000 Fifth Avenue, had opened approximately nine and three-quarter months (9 months 23 days) earlier, on Tuesday, March 30, 1880. The obelisk, which had been resting horizontally in Gorringe's turning structure, was turned, upon Gorringe's hand signal, to an approximately forty-five degree angle and was held dramatically in that position while the spectators preserved "a silence that was almost unnatural." When the turning resumed, "there arose a loud cheer which was prolonged until the shaft stood erect. It is something to have witnessed the manipulation of a mass weighing nearly two hundred and twenty tons changing its position majestically, yet as easily and steadily as if it were without weight. . . . Only five minutes elapsed from the first signal to the time the obelisk was vertical" (Gorringe, pages 46-47).

Installation of the mid-15th century BCE obelisk from Heliopolis via Alexandria took place Saturday, Jan. 22, 1881, at noon in New York City's Central Park; five minutes elapsed between the obelisk's paused position at an approximately 45-degree angle to its upright placement on its pedestal; spectators reacted first with an "unnatural" silence and then with a prolonged "loud cheer" (Gorringe, page 47); "Turning the Obelisk," illustration by American marine artist F.S. (Frederick Schiller) Cozzens (Oct. 11, 1846-Aug. 29, 1928), in H.H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks (1882), Plate XXVIIa, opposite page 54: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Cleopatra's Needle, which was created in the mid-15th century BCE from pink granite sourced from Aswan quarries in Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt) and later relocated to Alexandria in the first century BCE to adorn Cleopatra's Caesareum, has been sited on Graywacke Knoll, Central Park, Manhattan's Upper East Side, since Saturday, Jan. 22, 1881; Sunday, July 8, 2012, 20:07, image of Cleopatra's Needle, Graywacke Knoll, Central Park, Manhattan's Upper East Side, New York City: Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra's_Needle,_New_York.jpg

A pair of mid-15th century BCE obelisks was moved from the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis northward in the first century BCE to Alexandria for installation at Cleopatra's Caesareum; one of the pair was toppled by earthquake in the 14th century CE; the toppled obelisk was positioned in London in 1878 while the standing obelisk (shown here) was installed in New York City's Central Park in 1881; 1870 albumen silver print from glass negative attributed to English photographer Francis Frith (Oct. 7, 1822-Feb. 25, 1898); The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art: Public Domain, via Met Museum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285424

Installation of the mid-15th century BCE obelisk from Heliopolis via Alexandria took place Saturday, Jan. 22, 1881, at noon in New York City's Central Park; five minutes elapsed between the obelisk's paused position at an approximately 45-degree angle to its upright placement on its pedestal; spectators reacted first with an "unnatural" silence and then with a prolonged "loud cheer" (Gorringe, page 47); "Turning the Obelisk," illustration by American marine artist F.S. (Frederick Schiller) Cozzens (Oct. 11, 1846-Aug. 29, 1928), in H.H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks (1882), Plate XXVIIa, opposite page 54: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/n132/mode/1up

For further information:

Badawy, A. (Ahmed). "Historical Seismicity of Egypt." Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica, vol. 34, issue 1-2 (March 1999): 119-135.
Available @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283839188_Historical_seismicity_of_Egypt

Curry, Andrew. "Egypt's Eternal City." Archaeology > Issues. March/April 2019.
Available @ https://www.archaeology.org/issues/331-1903/features/7371-egypt-heliopolis-excavations

D'Alton, Martina. "The New York Obelisk; or How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here." Adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 50, no. 4 (Spring, 1993). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.
Available via MetMuseum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/The_New_York_Obelisk_or_How_Cleopatras_Needle_came_to_New_York_and_what_happened_when_it_got_here

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter I Removal of the Alexandrian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' to New York." Pages 1-58. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/1/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk." Pages 59-76. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/59/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Historical." Pages 68-76. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk, pages 59-76. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive 2 https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/68/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Record of the London Obelisk." Pages 108-109. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London, pages 96-109. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/108/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needles: Heliopolis to Alexandria to London and New York." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needles-heliopolis-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needle in London Associates Cleopatra With Julius Caesar." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needle-in-london-associates.html

Mental Floss. "First erected in Ancient Egypt in 1450 B.C.E., Cleopatra’s Needle is the oldest human-made object in New York City’s Central Park. The Khedive of Egypt, who "governed as a viceroy of the Sultan of Turkey between 1879 and 1914," gave the 69-foot-tall granite obelisk to the United States in 1881 to commemorate the construction of the Suez Canal. Generations of tourists have stood beneath the monument since it arrived in its current home, but few of them were aware of the more recent historical artifacts beneath their feet. Before Cleopatra’s Needle was unveiled in New York, a time capsule was buried at the site. It contained a copy of the 1870 U.S. census, a Bible, a dictionary, the complete works of William Shakespeare, a guide to Egypt, and a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. It’s one of two packages at the base of the obelisk. The contents of the second container—put there by William Henry Hurlbert, editor of 'The New York World' and the man who organized the purchase and transport of the monument—remain a mystery. The Central Park Conservancy confirmed to Gothamist that there are no plans to dig up the items, and as long as the structure remains in the park, the time capsules will likely stay put as well. Here are 11 time capsules waiting to be opened: https://trib.al/LVmebH1." Facebook. May 17, 2022.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine/photos/a.10150287971007365/10159964835232365/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine/posts/10159964835232365/

Merriam, Augustus C. "The Caesareum and the Worship of Augustus at Alexandria." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896), Vol. 14 (1883): 5-35.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935824

The Met. "Sunday at the Met: Cleopatra's Needle." YouTube. May 2, 2014.
Available via YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vxs89p46ns&t=37s

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Egyptian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' in Alexandria, Egypt. Attributed to Francis Frith British ca. 1870." The Metropolitan Museum of Art > Art > The Met Collection.
Available via Met Museum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285424

Roberts, David. "Cleopatra's Needle." The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. After Lithographs by Louis Haghe From Drawings Made on the Spot by David Roberts. With Historical Descriptions by the Rev. George Croly, L.L.D. Vol. 3. New York: D. Appleton & Co., n.d. [1856?].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57712168

Schroeder, Seaton, Lieutenant. "Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London." Pages 96-109. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/96/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Cleopatra's Needle in London Associates Cleopatra With Julius Caesar

Summary: Cleopatra's Needle in London associates Cleopatra with Julius Caesar as one of two obelisks at the Caesareum, her memorial to her first son's father.

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, image of Cleopatra's Needle, Victoria Embankment between Golden Jubilee Bridges and Waterloo Bridge, North Bank of River Thames, City of Westminster, central Greater London, South of England; London -- Cleopatra's Needle by Chris Talbot, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Cleopatra's Needle in London associates Cleopatra with Julius Caesar as one of a pair of obelisks installed at the Caesareum, the last Ptolemaic queen's memorial in Alexandria to her first son's father.

Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) designed the Caesareum in her hometown, Alexandria, as a memorial to Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE) after his assassination in Rome on the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BCE. He was the father of her first child and oldest son, Ptolemy XV Caesar Philopator Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Kaisar Philopator Philometor, "Ptolemy Caesar, Beloved of his Father, Beloved of his Mother"; 47-30 BCE), known as Caesarion (Ancient Greek: Καισαρίων, Kaisarion, "Little Caesar"). History considers Cleopatra and Julius Caesar's love child as his father's only known biological son. Before, during and briefly after Caesar's assassination, Cleopatra and Caesarion were staying at Horti Caesaris, Caesar's villa on the Tiber River's right bank, south of Rome. Both Cleopatra and Caesarion survived Julius Caesar by approximately 14 years five months.

Cleopatra incorporated two rose granite obelisks into her architectural tribute to Julius Caesar. They were transported to Alexandria from Heliopolis (Greek: Ἡλιούπολις, Helioupolis, "City of the Sun"), principal cult city in Ancient Egypt for native Egyptian gods Ra and Atum, modernly located in the Ain Shams (Arabic: عين شمس, "Eye of the Sun"; Coptic: ⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲧ ⲫⲣⲏ[) district of Cairo's Eastern Area. The nearly 200-ton obelisks, standing 60 meters apart, framed the grand entrance to the Caesareum, according to British Egyptologist Joann Fletcher (born Aug. 30, 1966) in Cleopatra the Great (Part Four, Chapter 8 Death and Resurrection: Osiris Avenged, page 216), published in 2011.

Both obelisks remained standing until possibly the early 14th century. "One of them fell down, probably during the earthquake which took place in 1301, while the Nile cast its boats a bowshot on the land and the walls of Alexandria were thrown down," according to Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857-Nov. 23, 1934), Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, in Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks (Chapter VI The Obelisk of Thothmes III at Constantinople, pages 166-167), published in 1926.

The felled obelisk remained horizontal for approximately 574 years. "The obelisk lay where it fell until Mr. John Dixon removed it to London at the expense of Sir Erasmus Wilson," Sir Ernest noted (page 167).

upright obelisk (center) destined for New York, horizontally felled obelisk (lower center) destined for London; "Cleopatra's Needle," by Scottish painter David Roberts (Oct. 24, 1796-Nov. 25, 1864); "London Published May 15th, 1856, by Day & Son, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields"; David Roberts, The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3 [1856/], Plate 146: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

The first plan for removal of one of the obelisks from Alexandria to London dates back to 1801, after the British victory over Napoleon Bonaparte's (born Napoleone Buonaparte; Aug. 15, 1769-May 5, 1821) French First Republic (Sep. 21, 1792-May 18, 1804) Army in the Battle of Alexandria, fought on March 21, 1801, according to U.S. naval officer Henry H. (Honychurch) Gorringe (Aug. 11, 1841-July 7, 1885) in Egyptian Obelisks (Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks, Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London, pages 96-97), published in 1882, and Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (Chapter II How Cleopatra's Needle Came to London, pages 54-59). Richard Ford William Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan (Sep. 10, 1763-Nov. 21, 1837), Head of the British Army in Egypt, "entered into the project warmly," (Gorringe, page 96) seeking "to send the fallen obelisk to England as a trophy which would commemorate Nelson's victory at the Battle of Abukir (August 1, 1798) and Abercromby's victory at the Battle of Alexandria" (Budge, page 54). Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (Sep. 29, 1758 [O.S. Sep. 17]-Oct. 21, 1805) decisively had defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's naval fleet in the Battle of Aboukir Bay, also known as the Battle of the Nile, which took place east of Alexandria from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3, 1798. The decisive defeat of the French by the British under Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (Oct. 7, 1734-March 28, 1801), who died from a musket-ball embedded in his thigh, critically led to the siege of Alexandria (Aug. 17-Sep. 2, 1801), which ended Napoleon's French campaign in Egypt and Syria (July 1, 1798-Sep. 2, 1801).

Unfortunately, as Lord Cavan's superiors, George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith (Jan. 7, 1746-March 10,1823), General John Hely-Hutchinson, 2nd Earl of Donoughmore (May 15, 1757 -June 29, 1832), and General Henry Edward Fox (March 4, 1755-July 18, 1811) ordered the abandonment of the obelisk removal project (Budge, pages 57, 59). Sources have provided "often vague, confused, or contradictory" accounts for the abandonment order, according to English archaeologist and Egyptologist Chris Elliott in Needles From the Nile: Obelisks and the Past as Property (Chapter 2 The Needles in Egypt, page 51), published in 2022. Also, the British presence in Egypt was designed as expeditionary, not occupying (Elliott, page 51; Gorringe, page 97). A pier that had been built to support the obelisk's introduction into its transporting vessel's stern was washed away during a gale, "and, as the army moved off shortly afterward, the project had to be abandoned" (Gorringe, page 97).

Subsequent intentions for transporting the obelisk to London were expressed yet abandoned in 1820 by Samuel Briggs (1776–1868), British Consul at Alexandria, and between 1832 and 1851 by Joseph Hume (Jan. 22, 1777-Feb. 20, 1855), Scottish physician and Radical Party leader.

During a visit to Paris in 1867, a visit to the Luxor Obelisk, which had been installed in Place de la Concorde in Paris in 1836, inspired Scottish writer and British Army commander Sir James Edward Alexander (Oct. 16, 1803-April 2, 1885) to seek the obelisk's placement in London. In 1875 he received necessary permission from Isma'il Pasha (Arabic: إسماعيل باشا Ismā‘īl Bāshā; Jan. 12, 1830-March 2, 1895), Khedive of Egypt (Jan. 19, 1863-June 26, 1879), for the obelisk's transfer (Gorringe, page 98). In 1876, Sir William James Erasmus Wilson (Nov. 25, 1809-Aug. 7, 1884), English surgeon and dermatologist, committed to covering the costs of relocating the obelisk to London (Budge, pages 65-66).

The obelisk's journey to its new setting in London began Friday, Sep. 21, 1877 (Gorringe, page 104). After rounding Cape St. Vincent, southern Portugal, steamer Olga and its tow, the cylinder ship Cleopatra that encased the obelisk, encountered a south-southwest gale on Sunday, Oct. 14, that separated the two vessels. The Olga arrived in Falmouth, southern coastal Cornwall, South West England, on Wednesday, Oct. 17. The Cleopatra, towed by tug Anglia, reached London Sunday, Jan. 20, 1878 (Budge, pages 68-70; Gorringe, pages 104-105).

The obelisk's journey ended at the Victoria Embankment, between the Golden Jubilee Bridges and the Waterloo Bridge, on the north bank of the River Thames, in central Greater London's City of Westminster. After a successful preliminary trial on Wednesday, Sep. 11, the obelisk's installation was scheduled for the next day, Thursday, Sep. 12, 1878, at 3:00 p.m. (Gorringe, pages 105-106).

"An inopportune shower coming on suddenly early in the afternoon somewhat thinned out the crowd that had begun to assemble; but the sun reappeared, and, under the pleasant auspices of a clearing sky, a vast concourse lined the river front. At the appointed hour the controlling tackles were handled, and in half an hour the obelisk was vertical. The Union Jack and Turkish flag were run up in token of success, and ringing cheers bespoke the congratulations of the multitude," reported Gorringe (pages 106-107).

The installation was completed the next day, Friday, Sep. 13. "The operation of lowering the monument to the pedestal was deferred until the following day, and was then performed with complete success" (Gorringe, page 107).

"Cleopatra's Needle" by English maritime artist William Lionel Wyllie (July 5, 1851-April 6, 1931); one of six in Father Thames, Series I, first use 5/10/1906: Public Domain, via TuckDB Postcards

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, image of Cleopatra's Needle, Victoria Embankment between Golden Jubilee Bridges and Waterloo Bridge, North Bank of River Thames, City of Westminster, central Greater London, South of England; London -- Cleopatra's Needle by Chris Talbot, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_-_Cleopatra's_Needle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3514837.jpg; Chris Talbor, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Geograph Britain and Ireland @ https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3514837

upright obelisk (center) destined for New York, horizontally felled obelisk (lower center) destined for London; "Cleopatra's Needle," by Scottish painter David Roberts (Oct. 24, 1796-Nov. 25, 1864); "London Published May 15th, 1856, by Day & Son, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields"; David Roberts, The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3 [1856/], Plate 146: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57712169

"Cleopatra's Needle" by English maritime artist William Lionel Wyllie (July 5, 1851-April 6, 1931); one of six in Father Thames, Series I, first use 5/10/1906: Public Domain, via TuckDB Postcards @ https://tuckdbpostcards.org/items/86112; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra%27s_Needle_(NBY_442716).jpg

For further information:

Badawy, A. (Ahmed). "Historical Seismicity of Egypt." Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica, vol. 34, issue 1-2 (March 1999): 119-135.
Available @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283839188_Historical_seismicity_of_Egypt

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallace, Sir. "Chapter II How Cleopatra's Needle Came to London." Pages 51-75. Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks: A Series of Descriptions of All the Important Inscribed Obelisks, With Hieroglyphic Texts, Translations, Etc. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1926.
Available via Google Books Read for free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cleopatra_s_Needles_and_Other_Egyptian_O/V0tCAAAAIAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatrasneedle0000budg/page/51/mode/1up

David, the Thrifty Traveller. "Tuck's Oilette Postcards." The Thrifty Traveller. Aug. 27, 2014.
Available @ https://thriftytraveller.wordpress.com/category/hong-kong/tucks-oilette-postcards/

Elliott, Chris (Christopher Niall). Needles from the Nile: Obelisks and the Past as Property. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2022.
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Needles_from_the_Nile/OG9vEAAAQBAJ

Fitzsimons, Eleanor. "Oscar Wilde’s Father and the Campaign to Bring Cleopatra’s Needle to London." Beside Every Man. Sep. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://eafitzsimons.wordpress.com/2016/09/12/oscar-wildes-father-and-the-campaign-to-bring-cleopatras-needle-to-london/

Fletcher, Joann. "Part Four, Chapter 8 Death and Resurrection: Osiris Avenged." Pages 207-232. Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatragreatwo00flet/page/216/mode/1up

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter I Removal of the Alexandrian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' to New York." Pages 1-58. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/1/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk." Pages 59-76. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/59/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Historical." Pages 68-76. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk, pages 59-76. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive 2 https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/68/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Record of the London Obelisk." Pages 108-109. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London, pages 96-109. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/108/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

King, James, Rev. Cleopatra's Needle: The History of the London Obelisk, With an Explanation of the Hieroglyphics. London: The Religious Tract Society.
Available via Project Gutenberg @ https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37785/37785-h/37785-h.htm

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needles: Heliopolis to Alexandria to London and New York." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needles-heliopolis-to.html

Roberts, David. "Cleopatra's Needle." The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. After Lithographs by Louis Haghe From Drawings Made on the Spot by David Roberts. With Historical Descriptions by the Rev. George Croly, L.L.D. Vol. 3. New York: D. Appleton & Co., n.d. [1856?].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57712168

Schroeder, Seaton, Lieutenant. "Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London." Pages 96-109. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/96/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Vieira Varela, Joana. "Of Victorian cravat pins and Cleopatra’s Needle." Museum of London > Discover. July 3, 2023.
Available @ https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/victorian-cravat-pins-and-cleopatras-needle

Wilson, Erasmus (William James Erasmus). Cleopatra's Needle: With Brief Notes on Egypt and Egyptian Obelisks. London: Brain & Co., 1877.
Available via Google Books Read free of charge @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cleopatra_s_Needle/1w0GAAAAQAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatrasneedle00wilsuoft
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatrasneedle00wils
Available via Wellcome Collection @ https://wellcomecollection.org/works/sz9gu6rn
Available via Wikimedia Commons @ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Cleopatra%27s_needle_-_with_brief_notes_on_Egypt_and_Egyptian_obelisks_%28IA_cleopatrasneedle00wils%29.pdf

Wilson, Erasmus, Sir. The Egypt of the Past. Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co., 1881.
Available via Google Books Read free of charge @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Egypt_of_the_Past/mi8wAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284268