Albert Harkness
Albert Harkness (born October 6, 1822 in Mendon , Massachusetts , † May 27, 1907 in Providence , Rhode Island ) was an American classical philologist who taught from 1855 to 1892 as a professor of Greek language and literature at Brown University . From 1880 to 1907 he was a member of the governing committee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens .
Life
Albert Harkness, the son of Southwick Harkness (1797-1875) and Phebe Thayer Harkness (1800-1863), attended Uxbridge High School and Worcester Academy and then studied Classical Philology at Brown University . After the bachelor's degree (1842) he worked from 1843 as a Latin teacher at the high school in Providence . In 1846 he was promoted to Senior Master. In 1849 he also directed the Franklin Lyceum in Providence.
In 1853, Harkness interrupted his school career for two years and went on extensive educational and study trips in Europe. He first studied at the universities in Bonn and Berlin . In 1854 he became (as the first American) a Dr. phil. PhD . In his doctoral thesis he compared the teaching of Latin and Greek in New England and Prussia . He then studied at the University of Göttingen and in the summer of 1855 traveled through Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and England.
On the crossing to Greece he received a letter from Brown University, which offered him the chair of Greek language and literature. Harkness accepted the call and began teaching at Brown University in October 1855. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1869 (LL. D.). In the same year, Harkness and numerous colleagues founded the American Philological Association , of which he was first Vice President in 1869/70. In 1875/76 he acted as president of the company. In the following years Harkness participated in the establishment of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens , whose governing committee he was a member from 1880 until his death.
In 1892 he resigned from his teaching post at Brown University, but served on its Board of Fellows from 1904 to 1907 .
Harkness was married to Maria Aldrich Smith from 1849. One of the couple's children was Albert Granger Harkness (1856-1923), who taught as a professor of Latin and German at Brown University.
Scientific work
Although Harkness was a professor of Greek language and literature, he mainly published writings on the Latin language. Between 1853 and 1898 he wrote several short and school grammars in Latin, introductions to the Latin language and collections of texts. There were also study editions of Caesar's , Cicero's, and Sallust's writings.
Fonts (selection)
- Second Latin Book . New York 1853
- Comparantur studia Graeca et Latina quae in Nova Anglia cum eis quae in Borussia sunt . Bonn 1854 (dissertation, unprinted)
- First Greek Book . New York 1861
- Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges . New York 1864. Revised 1898 edition
- Latin Reader . New York 1865
- An Introductory Latin Book . New York 1866
- A Practical Introduction to Latin Composition for Schools and Colleges . New York 1869
- Elements of Latin Grammar for Schools . New York 1869
- Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War . New York 1870. Reprinted 1886. Revised edition (with CH Forbes) 1901
- Select Orations of Cicero . New York 1873. Reprinted 1882. Revised 1906 edition
- A New Latin Reader . New York 1877
- A Complete Course in Latin for the First Year . New York 1883
- The Military System of the Romans . New York 1887
- An Easy Method for Beginners in Latin . New York 1890
- A Short Latin Grammar . New York 1898
- with JC Kirkland, Jr .: Nine Orations of Cicero . New York 1906
- Sallust's Catiline . New York 1906
literature
- Meyer Reinhold : Goodwin, William Watson . In: Ward W. Briggs (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists . Westport, CT / London: Greenwood Press 1994, ISBN 978-0-313-24560-2 , pp. 259f.
Web links
- Entry on Albert Harkness in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ For the parents see the tomb of the father on Find A Grave (English, accessed on April 3, 2015).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Harkness, Albert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American classical philologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1822 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mendon , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 27, 1907 |
| Place of death | Providence , Rhode Island |