George Horton

George Horton (October 11, 1859 – June 5, 1942) was a member of the United States diplomatic service who held several consular offices in Greece and the Ottoman Empire between 1893 and 1924. During two periods he was the U.S. Consul or Consul General at Smyrna (today known as İzmir, Turkey), 1911–1917 and 1919–1922. The first ended when the U.S. entered World War I and diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire were terminated. The second covered Greek administration of the city during the Greco-Turkish War. The Greek administration of Smyrna was appointed by the Allied Powers following the Ottoman defeat in World War I and the seizure of Smyrna.

Today Horton is best remembered for The Blight of Asia, his 1926 book about the events, notably the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Christian population, leading up to and during the Great Fire of Smyrna. He briefly summarizes events from 1822 to 1909 and covers in more detail, with eye-witness accounts, events from 1909 to 1922. The title refers to what he considered the abominable behavior of the Ottoman Turks. Horton, in his book records his personal memoirs from life in modern-day Turkey, while the events he describes are focused on that particular region, and that particular time.

Horton has been accused by some of having an alleged bias against Turks and Muslims; however others dispute this characterization and note how he has also been widely praised. Either way, he remains a throughly reliable source and Horton's main arguments have been proven by mainstream scholarship.