Milton W. Humphreys

Milton W. Humphreys (full name Milton Wylie Humphreys , born September 15, 1844 in Anthony's Creek , Greenbrier County , now part of West Virginia , † November 20, 1928 in Charlottesville , Virginia ) was an American classical philologist who served as professor of ancient languages ​​at Washington and Lee University (1869-1875) and as professor of Greek at Vanderbilt University (1875-1883), the University of Texas at Austin (1883-1887) and the University of Virginia (1887-1912) worked .

Life

Milton W. Humphreys came from a family of 13 in Greenbrier County , which was part of Virginia until 1865 . His parents were the country doctor Andrew Cavet Humphreys (1810–1866) and his wife Mary McQuain Humphreys nee. Hefner (1813-1893). A passing Presbyterian pastor saw the talent of young Milton and persuaded his parents to let him go to school in Charleston . Humphreys went to school with the aim of becoming a pastor too, but later gave up that career aspiration.

In the American Civil War (1861-1865) Humphreys fought from 1862 on the side of the southern states with the rank of sergeant. After his release from captivity, he worked from 1865 to 1866 as a teacher and studied classical philology at Washington College, which was renamed Washington and Lee University from 1870 . At this college, Humphreys obtained his master's degree (A.M.) in 1869 and was appointed Assistant Professor of Ancient Languages, and in 1870 Adjunct Professor. From 1872 to 1874 he went on a long educational trip through Europe. He deepened his studies from 1872 to 1873 at the University of Berlin and in 1874 at the University of Leipzig Dr. phil. PhD .

Upon his return to the United States, Humphreys resumed teaching. Washington and Lee University was the first educational institution in the United States to replace the conventional American pronunciation of Latin with the reconstructed, approximately correct ancient pronunciation ( pronuntiatus restitutus ). In 1875 Humphreys moved to Vanderbilt University as Professor of Greek , in 1883 to the University of Texas at Austin and in 1887 to the University of Virginia , where he stayed until his retirement (1912).

Humphreys was a founding member of the American Philological Association , in whose board he was elected from 1880-1882 as Vice President and 1882/83 as President.

He married in 1877 Louise Frances Garland (1843-1901), the daughter of the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Landon Garland (1810-1895). The couple had four daughters.

Humphreys' research focus in Classical Philology was Latin phonology and metrics . He published study editions of two Greek dramas: The Clouds by Aristophanes (1888) and Antigone by Sophocles (1891). In addition, Humphreys dealt with other areas, including astronomy , botany , mathematics and especially ballistics . In these areas he had gained practical experience during the civil war, which he combined with scientific studies. He regularly published articles in The United States Journal of Artillery .

Fonts (selection)

• Quaestiones metricae de accentus momento in versu heroico . Leipzig 1874 (dissertation)
• The Clouds of Aristophanes . Boston 1888
• The Antigone of Sophocles . New York 1891

literature

• Joseph R. Berrigan: Humphreys, Milton Wylie . In: Ward W. Briggs (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists . Westport, CT / London: Greenwood Press 1994, ISBN 978-0-313-24560-2 , pp. 297-299.

Web links

• Entry on Milton W. Humphreys in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)