Martin Andrew Sharp Hume (8 December 1843 – 1 July 1910), born Martin Andrew Sharp, was an English historian, long a resident in Spain.
Background and early life
Martin Andrew Sharp was born in London on 8 December 1843. He was second son of William Lacy Sharp, of the East India Company's service, who married Louisa Charlotte Hume in 1840. He was educated at a private school at Forest Gate, he had some practical training in business, and began early to learn Spanish. A branch of his mother's family had settled at Madrid towards the end of the eighteenth century.
Career
In 1860, Sharp paid his Spanish kinsfolk a first visit, which had a decisive influence on his career. His relatives received him with affectionate cordiality. Though he declined their invitation to make his home with them, he visited them annually for long periods, perfected his knowledge of Spanish, witnessed the revolution of 1868, and became acquainted with the chief organisers of the movement. The last of the Spanish Humes, a lady advanced in years, died in 1876, bequeathing her property to Martin Sharp, and in August 1877, in compliance with her wish, he assumed the name of Hume. He was now independent. A keen volunteer officer, he was attached to the Turkish forces during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78; he then spent some time in exploration on the west coast of Africa, and travelled extensively in Central and South America.
Until 1882 Hume's sympathies had been vaguely conservative. His views then changed, and during the next eleven years he actively engaged in English political conflict. He stood unsuccessfully as a liberal candidate at Maidstone in 1885, at Central Hackney in 1886, and at Stockport in 1892 and 1893.
