Professor Harold Arthur Harris (27 October 1902 – 29 August 1974) was an academic associated with the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was born in Oxford, where his father was a college servant. He was educated at Oxford High School, and went on to study at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

. Here, he gained a first in Classical Moderations, becoming a senior scholar, and graduating with first class honours in English. After graduation, Harris gained his teaching certificate, and in 1926 he was appointed Lecturer in

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and English at St David's College,

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

. In 1934, he was made Professor of

, taking responsibility for English during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He remained in the post until his retirement in 1968. Harris was responsible for a great deal of teaching at

. All St David's students were, at this time, expected to study

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

for two years. Simultaneously, the numbers wishing to study English at the college were increasing. This left little time for his personal research interests. Yet he did manage to publish various books and articles, including ''Greek Athletes and Athletics'' in 1964, and ''Sport in Greece and Rome'' in 1968. These aroused great interest worldwide, and resulted in countless invitations to lecture on the subject. Harris took a great interest in sport himself, particularly

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He possessed a vast knowledge of English County and Test cricketers, and was involved with the

XI. He also took a prominent role in many college dramatic productions. He visited

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on an annual basis, being prevented only during the war years. These visits resulted in him being made a senior lecturer on the official Greek cruise tours. He died suddenly at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1974. A hall of residence at St David's College, which is now the Lampeter campus of the

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant) is a multi-campus university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, England, and learning ...

, is named for Harris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Harold Arthur 1902 births 1974 deaths British classical scholars Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Academics of the University of Wales, Lampeter