Albert Harkness (October 6, 1822May 27, 1907) was an American classical scholar and educator. He was professor of Greek at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, and helped found the

American Philological Association The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preemine ...

and the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

Early life

Harkness was born in Mendon,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and attended Uxbridge High School and

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

. He graduated from Brown University in 1842. He was senior master of Providence High School from 1846 to 1853, and pursued studies in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the universities of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

. Harkness was the first American to obtain a degree from Bonn (

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

, 1854).

Career

In 1855, he was appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Greek in Brown University, a position he held until his retirement in 1892. He visited

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 1870 and 1883 and there investigated educational questions, in particular the methods of German and English universities. He assisted in founding the

, of which he was a first vice president in 1869-1870 and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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

, an institution which was opened in 1882. In 1884, he was elected director of the school. In 1869, he received the degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from Brown University. He lectured extensively before learned societies, contributed valuable papers on original researches in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

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.

Death

Harkness died in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

on May 27, 1907.

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, and their daughter Clara Frances married

William Carey Poland William Carey Poland (1846–1929) was an American classical scholar, educator, academic administrator, and former university president. He was Emeritus, Professor Emeritus at Brown University starting in 1915; and the President of Rhode Island Sch ...

, a professor at Brown University.

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 Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

(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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, Albert American male journalists Brown University faculty American classical scholars Educators from Massachusetts Brown University alumni University of Bonn alumni 1822 births 1907 deaths People from Mendon, Massachusetts People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts Writers from Providence, Rhode Island People from Providence County, Rhode Island Worcester Academy alumni Classical scholars of Brown University