Albert Harkness

Albert Harkness (October 6, 1822 – May 27, 1907) was an American classical scholar and educator. He was professor of Greek at Brown University, and helped found the American Philological Association and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Albert Harkness
Born(1822-10-06)October 6, 1822
Mendon, Massachusetts
DiedMay 27, 1907(1907-05-27) (aged 84)
Providence, Rhode Island
CitizenshipUS
Spouse(s)Maria Aldrich Smith Harkness
ChildrenAlbert Granger Harkness
Clara Frances Harkness
Parent(s)Southwick Harkness
Phebe (Thayer) Harkness
Academic background
Alma materBrown University
Berlin
Bonn
Göttingen

Early life

Harkness was born in Mendon, Massachusetts[1] and attended Uxbridge High School and Worcester Academy.[2] He graduated from Brown University in 1842.[3] He was senior master of Providence High School from 1846-1853,[4] and pursued studies in Germany at the universities of Berlin, Bonn, and Göttingen. Harkness was the first American to obtain a degree from Bonn (Ph.D., 1854).[5]

Career

In 1855, he was appointed professor of Greek in Brown University, a position he held until his retirement in 1892.[6]

He visited Europe in 1870 and 1883 and there investigated educational questions, in particular the methods of German and English universities. He assisted in founding the American Philological Association,[7] of which he was a first vice president in 1869-18770 and president in 1875-1876. As a member of the Archæological Institute of America, he was appointed in 1881 to the committee on the expediency of establishing an American School of Classical Studies at Athens, an institution which was opened in 1882.[8] In 1884, he was elected director of the school.[9] In 1869, he received the degree of LL.D. from Brown University.[10]

He lectured extensively before learned societies, contributed valuable papers on original researches in philology to the Transactions of the American Philological Association, and from 1851 published a series of textbooks in Latin studies, of which it may be said that from them dated the beginning of a new era in the Latin department of classical studies in America.[11]

Death

Harkness died in Providence, Rhode Island on May 27, 1907.[12]

Family life

Harkness was the son of Southwick and Phebe (Thayer) Harkness. On May 28, 1849 Harkness married Maria Aldrich Smith. Their son Albert Granger Harkness was a Professor of Roman Literature and History at Brown University,[13] and their daughter Clara Frances married a professor at Brown University.[14]

Published works
  • First Latin Book (1851)
  • "First Greek Book" (1860, 1885 revised) original cost was $1.05 hardback and was published by American Book Company New York, Cincinnati and Chicago from the press of D. Appleton & Company with two prefaces (original and revised, respectively)
  • Second Latin Book and Reader (1853)
  • A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges (1864)
  • a Latin Reader (1865)
  • Introduction to Latin Composition (1868, 1888)
  • annotated editions of Cæsar's De Bello Gallico (1870, 1886)
  • select orations of Cicero (1973, 1882)
  • Sallust's Catilina (1878, 1884)
  • an annotated Course in Latin Prose Authors (1878)
  • a standard Latin Grammar (1864, 1881), published in a thorough revision with many additions as A Complete Latin Grammar (1898)

References
  1. The Society (1907). The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. The Society. p. 406.
  2. Rhode Island Historical Society (1908). Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Volume 6. The Society. p. 65.
  3. Brown University (1900). Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. Brown University. p. 21.
  4. "From Martha Mitchell's Encyclopedia Brunoniana Harkness, Albert 1842". Brown University. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  5. Rhode Island Historical Society (1908). Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Volume 6. The Society. p. 65.
  6. Smith, Alfred Emanuel and Walton, Francis (1907). New Outlook, Volume 86. Outlook Publishing Company. p. 270.
  7. American journal of archaeology. 1907. p. 342.
  8. "From Martha Mitchell's Encyclopedia Brunoniana Harkness, Albert 1842". Brown University. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  9. American School of Classical Studies at Athens (1885). Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Volume 1. American School of Classical Studies at Athens. p. 265.
  10. E.L. Kellogg & Company (1907). The School Journal, Volume 74. E.L. Kellogg & Company. p. 573.
  11. Smith, Alfred Emanuel and Walton, Francis (1907). New Outlook, Volume 86. Outlook Publishing Company. p. 270.
  12. The Society (1907). The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. The Society. p. 406.
  13. Briggs, Ward W. (1994). Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 259. ISBN 9780313245602.
  14. White, James Terry (1896). The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. J. T. White Company. p. 24.


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