Who was Khalil Gibran?

I came across a quotation by Gibran and wondered who he was. He was a Lebanese born immigrant to the USA, who spent his life writing.  He wrote in English and Arabic. He was a Christian, whose ancestor had converted to Christianity

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If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they do not, they never were.

I knew that saying long before I found out who had said it. When I heard his name, I assumed he had lived years ago.  He didn't live as long ago as I thought. Not centuries ago. But the last century, born in the previous century. He lived from 1883 to 1931.

This month I started compiling quotations. I have already published two books of quotations, Quick Quotations for authors and Speakers, and Who Said What When. My latest book is seasonal quotations.

I came across a saying about Halloween. I looked up Khalil Gibran.

Wikipedia helpfully explains:

Khalil or Khaleel (Arabic: خليل) means friend and is a common male first name in the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Balkans, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Asia and among Muslims in South Asia and as such is also a common surname. It is also used amongst Turkic peoples of Russia and African Americans. The female counterpart of this name is Khalila or Khaleela.

The name Gibran is Arabic and means to restore or repair. What a lovely name.  A friend who restores or repairs.

He wanted to be buried in the Lebanan. His body was taken back there and his tomb is now part of the museum complex called Gibran museum. It is about 75 miles from Beirut.

You can read all about him in Wikipedia and on a website devoted to the museum. 

I shall add some quotations later. You will find them in Wikiquote.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibran_Museum