THORBECKE, HEINRICH (tōr-bek'e), a German Orientalist; born in Meiningen, Germany, March 14, 1837. He was appointed professor in the University of Halle, 1887. His studies were directed mainly to the poetry of the Bedawin and the history of Arabic. He was author of: “Life of Antarah, the Pre-Islamite Poet” (1868); “Al Ashâ's Song of Praise to Mohammed” (1875); “M. Sabbâg's Grammar of Conversational Arabic in Syria and Egypt” (1886). He died in Mannheim, Germany, Jan. 3, 1890.