Robert Gordon Latham
Robert Gordon Latham , spr. läthäm, (* 1812 in Billingborough, Lincolnshire ; † 1888 ) was an English linguist and ethnologist .
Latham studied medicine at King's College ( University of Cambridge ). After graduating, he got a job as an assistant doctor at the Middlesex Hospital. From 1823 he stayed in Denmark and Sweden for ten years. On his return in 1833 he was appointed professor of English language and literature at University College London .
Latham was instrumental in founding the Philological Society in London . When an ethnological department was established in the Crystal Palace in Sydenham ( London Borough of Lewisham ) in 1852 , it was Latham's initiative.
In 1863 Latham resigned from all offices and retired into private life.
reception
Latham's scientific reputation is based less on his medical skills than on his linguistic skills. His ethnological and linguistic studies in particular were highly praised by experts of his time. For example, Latham was one of the first to address the historical development of the English language with his “Treatise on the English language”.
Works (selection)
- as an author
- Norway and the Norwegians . London 1840 (2 vol.)
- Treatise on the English language . 5th ed. 1862.
- History and etymology of the English language . 1849.
- Handbook of the English language . 9th edition, 1875.
- Natural history of the varieties of man . 1850.
- Man and his migrations . 1851.
- Ethnology of British colonies . 1851.
- Ethnology of the British Islands . 1852.
- Ethnology of Europe . 1852.
- The native races of the Russian empire . 1854.
- Varieties of the human species . 1855.
- Descriptive ethnology . 1859 (2 vol.)
- The nationalities of Europe . 1863 (2 vol.)
- Russian and Turk . 1878.
- Logic in its application to language . 1856.
- as editor
- Robert Gordon Latham: Elements of comparative philology . 1862. (based on Samuel Johnsons and Henry John Todd's Dictionary of the English Language )
- John Mitchell Kemble : Horae Ferales, or Studies in the Archeology of Northern Nations .
- Tacitus : Germania . 1850 (with extensive treatises)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Latham, Robert Gordon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English linguist and ethnologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1812 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Billingborough, Lincolnshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1888 |