prof william wright lld (17 january 1830 – 22 may 1889) was a famous english orientalist, and professor of arabic in the university of cambridge. many of his works on syriac literature are still in print and of considerable scholarly value, especially the catalogues of the holdings of the british library and cambridge university library. "a grammar of the arabic language", often simply known as "wright's grammar", continues to be a popular book with students of arabic. wright is also remembered for the "short history of syriac literature".