William Abbott Oldfather

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William Abbott Oldfather (born October 23, 1880 in Urmia in Persia, † May 27, 1945 in Homer , Illinois ) was an American classical philologist who was Professor of Classics at the University of Illinois from 1909 .

Life

William Abbott Oldfather was born on October 23, 1880 in Urmia, Persia. His parents, Jeremiah M. Oldfather and Felicia Narcissa Rice Oldfather, were Presbyterian missionaries. His younger brother was the philologist and ancient historian Charles Henry Oldfather (1887-1954).

Oldfather studied at Hanover College and Harvard University , where he completed his bachelor's degree in 1901 and his master's degree in 1902 . He then worked from 1903 to 1906 as a lecturer at Northwestern University and then went to Europe to the University of Munich to deepen his studies and perfect his scientific way of working. In 1908 he received his doctorate with Otto Crusius with the dissertation Lokrika: Sagengeschichtliche investigations , which also appeared in the journal Philologus (Volume 67, pp. 411-473).

After his return to the USA, Oldfather first became an Assistant Professor (Scientific Assistant) for Latin Studies at Northwestern University. In 1909 he went to the University of Illinois as Associate Professor of Classics , where he taught and researched until the end of his life. He was one of the last representatives of his science in the USA who had received their scientific training in Germany. Even after the First World War , when the scientific exchange between Germany and the rest of the world declined, Oldfather represented the methods of his Munich teachers and thus contributed to the rise of Classical Philology in the USA. He was also committed to the acquisition of the extensive Johannes Vahlens private library (1913), which supplemented the university's holdings with 10,000 books and 15,000 offprints from the 19th century. In 1926 Oldfather became head of the Institute for Classical Studies. From 1933 to 1934 he was a Sather visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley (one year before Werner Jaeger ). In 1934 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . From 1935 to 1942 he was chairman of the Institute for Linguistics and Literature at the University of Illinois. Oldfather was also president of the American Philological Association in 1938 . He died on May 27, 1945 in Homer Park: he drowned during a canoe excursion with his graduates.

Since September 22, 1902, Oldfather was married to Margaret Agnes Giboney.

Services

William Abbott Oldfather was one of the leading American classical scholars of his time. He published over 250 independent writings and almost 500 articles for the Realencyclopadie of classical antiquity . His participation in this company shows his claim to promote international cooperation in classical philology. He worked especially in the USA as a science organizer and formed a philological school at the University of Illinois, from which 46 dissertations resulted in 37 years.

Oldfather devoted himself in his research work to Latin linguistic research, especially in the area of lexicons . He promoted international collaboration on the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae and published Indices Verborum (word indexes ) on various Roman authors who are still the current state of research.

literature

  • Michael Armstrong: Oldfather, William Abbott. In: Ward W. Briggs (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists . Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut / London 1994, ISBN 0-313-24560-6 , pp. 459-461.
  • William M. Calder III : William Abbott Oldfather and the Preservation of German Influence in American Classics 1919-1933. In: Hellmut Flashar (Ed.): Ancient Studies in the 20s. New questions and impulses . Steiner, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-515-06569-5 , pp. 403-421.
  • Björn Biester, Steven E. Peck: The Purchase of the Johannes Vahlen Library by the University of Illinois in 1913 and the Role of William A. Oldfather. Unpublished Documents. In: Illinois Classical Studies. Volume 30, 2005, pp. 213-228.
  • William M. Calder III: Oldfather, William Abbott. In: Peter Kuhlmann , Helmuth Schneider (Hrsg.): History of the ancient sciences. Biographical Lexicon (= The New Pauly . Supplements. Volume 6). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2012, ISBN 978-3-476-02033-8 , Sp. 902-904.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rufus A. Longman: The genealogy of the Oldfather family. Cincinnati 1911, p. 66.

Web links

Wikisource: William Abbott Oldfather  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Oldfather, William Abbott
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American classical philologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH Urmia
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 1945
Place of death Homer (Illinois)