Sykes was a British diplomat who, with French diplomat François Georges-Picot, negotiated the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916. The pact called for dividing the Middle East territories of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in World War I. Britain took control of Palestine and Iraq, and France gained Lebanon and Syria, including the Golan Heights. The League of Nations accepted the Sykes-Picot plan.
Photo: Leopold Pilichowski, The Bridgeman Art Library