Who translated the 'Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám' into English?

Edward FitzGerald translated the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám into English. His version, first published in 1859, rendered a selection of Persian quatrains attributed to the Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer Omar Khayyám.

FitzGerald’s work was a highly free literary adaptation rather than a strictly literal translation. He combined, rearranged, and paraphrased material from Persian manuscripts, shaping it into rhyming English verse. That approach helped the poem sound natural and memorable to Victorian readers, though scholars have noted that some passages cannot be confidently traced to Khayyám alone.

The book was initially unsuccessful, but its reputation grew after 1861, helped by the enthusiasm of figures associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. By the late nineteenth century, it had become widely popular in Britain and the United States, inspiring editions, illustrations, and Omar Khayyám clubs.

A common mix-up is to credit Khayyám himself with the English wording. Khayyám was the medieval Persian poet whose quatrains formed the source material; FitzGerald was the nineteenth-century English poet who made the famous English version.