A Chronology of Kahlil Gibran’s Life and Work Isabella Kapur
1883 Kahlil Gibran is born Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān to Kamila Rahme and Khalil Saad Jubrān in the town of Bsharri, in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Empire, in present-day Lebanon. (In 1860, the massacre of Lebanese Christians led to the separation of Mount Lebanon into an autonomous Christian region under Ottoman and European protection.) While his exact birth date is unknown, Gibran himself favored January 6. Gibran’s parents developed a poor reputation in the relatively small town of Bsharri. Kamila Rahme was the daughter of a Maronite cleric who was excommunicated from the church for officiating the wedding of two people from politically opposed factions, and she had a son, Butrus, from a previous marriage. Khalil Saad Jubrān, described as imposing and arrogant, worked as a walnut farmer and tax collector but occupied much of his time drinking and gambling. 1891, age 8 Unable to afford their home, Gibran’s family (including his two younger sisters, Mariana and Sultana) is forced to move to an unhygienic basement apartment in Bsharri, acquired by Khalil Saad Jubrān in exchange for loyalty to Bsharri political leader Raji Beyk. When Beyk is accused of corruption in 1891, Jubrān is caught up in the scandal and arrested for embezzlement. He is found guilty and the family’s property is confiscated. Gibran’s interest in drawing develops. 1895, age 12 After Gibran’s maternal grandfather dies in 1894, the family’s social, economic, and emotional difficulties are compounded. Gibran’s
175