Background
Lambton was the eldest daughter of the Honorary George Lambton (younger son of the 2nd Earl of Durham) and a cousin of Antony Lambton.
Lambton was the eldest daughter of the Honorary George Lambton (younger son of the 2nd Earl of Durham) and a cousin of Antony Lambton.
She studied at SOAS under Hamilton Gibb. In 1942, she was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and, later, honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the University of Durham and the University of Cambridge.
She was an acknowledged authority on land tenure and reform in Iran, Seljuq, Mongol, Safavid and Qajar administration and institutions, and local and tribal histories. From 1939-1945, she was Press attaché of the British Legation to Tehran and then Professor of Persian at SOAS from 1953-1979 succeeding Arthur Arberry as holder of that chairman She was also an honorary fellow of New Hall, Cambridge, SOAS and the University of London.
She wrote several books on subjects ranging from Persian grammar and vocabulary to Qajar land reform.
Ann Lambton played a role in overthrowing the democratically elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh. After the decision to nationalize Iran"s oil interests in 1951, she advised the British government to undermine the authority of Mossadegh"s regime.
She proposed that Oxford University professor R. C. Zaehner should go to Iran and begin covert operations. In 1953, with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency, the regime of Mossadegh was overthrown and the Shah was restored to the throne.
As Professor Emeritus of the Diocese of Newcastle and Chairman of the Iran Diocesan Association, Lambton served on the Middle East Committee and advised Archbishops on inter-faith matters.
She delivered Lent lectures biannually to clergy and laity for many years. At the University of Durham, the Centre of Iranian Studies has instituted an annual Professor A. K. South. Lambton honorary lectureship.
Professor
Lambton delivered the inaugural lecture in this series in 2001. Professor Lambton was also a lay reader and took services at the church of Street Gregory the Great, Kirknewton and Street Mary & Street Michael"s Church, Doddington, Northumberland. Lambton died at her home in Kirknewton on 19 July 2008 at the age of 96 after a long illness.
Arbuthnott, H.
Professor Ann Lambton: Persian scholar, Obituary, The Times, 23 July 2008. McLachlan, K. South.; Professor AKS Lambton, Obituary, Telegraph, 8 August 2008. Morgan, David; Ann Lambton, The Guardian, 15 August 2008,
Waghmar, Burzine K.
Professor Ann Lambton: Persianist unrivalled in the breadth of her scholarship whose association with Soas was long and illustrious, Obituary, The Independent, 1 August 2008.
She was an honorary Life Member of the Middle East Studies Association of North America.