Edward Capps

Edward Capps (born December 21, 1866 in Jacksonville , Illinois , † August 21, 1950 in Princeton , New Jersey ) was an American classical philologist .

Life

Edward Capps first studied at Illinois College , where he received his bachelor's degree in 1887 and then worked as a lecturer in Latin and Greek. In 1888 he went to Europe for a year to deepen his studies at the universities in Berlin , Munich and Halle as well as at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens . In 1890 he returned to the United States and became a tutor at Yale University . At Yale he also received his doctorate in 1891 with the dissertation The Stage in the Greek Theater . From 1892 he worked as an assistant professor , later as a full professor of Greek Language and Literature at Yale. In 1907 he moved to Princeton University as Professor of Classics and became President of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South for one year . From 1908 until his death he was a board member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, from 1919 to 1939 also chairman of the board. From 1909 to 1910 he was also President of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States . After the First World War he represented the United States Embassy in Greece and Macedonia from 1920 to 1921 as Extraordinary Minister. In 1936, Capps retired as a professor, but remained active in the scientific organization.

During his academic career, Capps received honorary doctorates from various universities:

• Doctor of Laws from Illinois College (1911) and University of Athens (1937)
• Doctor of Letters from Oberlin College (1923), the University of Michigan (1931) and the University of Oxford (1946)
• Doctor of Humane Letters from Harvard University (1924)

Capps has made a name for himself as both a scientist and a science organizer. Initially, the focus of his work was on specialist science. He was an expert on Greek theater, especially Greek comedy. His edition of the Epitrepontes des Menander was also highly praised abroad (by Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff ). In the course of his teaching activities, Capps concentrated more and more on the administration of research and teaching. He was the first president of the American Association of University Professors in 1920 . From 1914 until his death he was co-editor of the Loeb Classical Library , the then largest publishing company of American classical philology. In 1918 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1920 to the American Philosophical Society .

literature

• William M. Calder III : Capps, Edward . In: Ward W. Briggs (ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists , Westport, CT / London: Greenwood Press 1994, pp. 84f., ISBN 978-0-313-24560-2 .

Web links

• Entry on Edward Capps in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Member History: Edward Capps. American Philosophical Society, accessed May 29, 2018 .