William Scott Ferguson
William Scott Ferguson (born November 11, 1875 in Marshfield (Prince Edward Island) , † April 28, 1954 in Cambridge (Massachusetts) ) was an American ancient historian of Canadian origin who was a professor at Harvard University (1908-1945) . He is particularly known for his research on Greek chronology and the culture of Hellenism .
Life
William Scott Ferguson was the son of the Canadian farmer and politician Donald Ferguson and his wife Elizabeth Scott Ferguson. He studied at McGill University in Montreal , where he received his bachelor's degree in 1896 , and at Cornell University , where he received his master's degree in 1897 and received his doctorate in 1899 . Ferguson then deepened his studies in Berlin and Athens .
On his return to the USA, Ferguson worked as a lecturer in Greek and Roman history at the University of California, Berkeley . From 1906 to 1907 he held research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington ; at the same time he was appointed associate professor at Berkeley . In 1908 he moved to Harvard University as an assistant professor , where he was appointed Professor of Ancient History in 1912 and McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History in 1929. From 1913 to 1914 he was on leave from his Harvard professorship to take up a professorship at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens . In 1921 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1937 to the American Philosophical Society . From 1939 to 1942 he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science , on July 1, 1945 he retired. In his honor, the William Scott Ferguson award was established in 1951 , which is presented to Harvard students for outstanding essays. One of the awardees is John Roberts .
Services
Ferguson exerted a great influence on ancient history research in the USA through his numerous students (including Sterling Dow , Jakob Larsen , Charles Edson , Vincent Scramuzza and Arthur ER Boak ). His research put the Greek chronology on secure foundations for the first time. Already during his doctorate he discovered a law: While the eponymous archons mark the years in no recognizable order, the chairmen of the Bule take turns every year. He published this discovery, which is extremely important for the dating of Attic inscriptions, for the first time in his dissertation The Athenian Archons of the Third and Second Centuries before Christ . It has since been known as "Ferguson's law". In the course of his research, Ferguson refined his theory, the validity of which is assured until the Roman occupation of Greece.
In addition to his research on chronology, Ferguson dealt with the culture of the Hellenistic period and contributed to the popularization of ancient history, for example through his lecture on Greek Imperialism (printed in 1913) and through his contributions to the Cambridge Ancient History series .
literature
- E. Christian Kopff : Ferguson, William Scott . In: Ward W. Briggs (ed.), Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists , Westport, CT / London: Greenwood Press 1994, pp. 172-174, ISBN 978-0-313-24560-2 .
Web links
- Entry on William Scott Ferguson in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Member History: William Scott Ferguson. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 4, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ferguson, William Scott |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ferguson, Scott |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American ancient historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marshfield (Prince Edward Island) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 28, 1954 |
| Place of death | Cambridge, Massachusetts |