Henry David Jocelyn, FBA, FAHA (1933–2000), commonly known as Harry Jocelyn, was an Australian Latinist and classical scholar. He was the Hulme Professor of Latin at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

from 1973 to 1996.

Early life and education

Born on 22 August 1933 at Bega,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Jocelyn's father John Daniel Jocelyn was a police officer; both he and Jocelyn's mother Phyllis Irene (''née'' Burton) were born in Australia, though John was descended from English migrants who settled in the goldfields and Phyllis from English and Irish convicts

transported to Australia Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia. The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. When ...

. In 1944 the family moved to a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Harry won a place at

Canterbury Boys' High School Canterbury Boys' High School (CBHS) is a public secondary day school for boys located in Canterbury, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located near the Canterbury Park Racecourse and about 200 metres north of Ca ...

two years later, where he enjoyed classics and ranked top of his year. From 1951, he read classics at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating in 1955 with a first-class degree for which he received two university medals. Among his chief influences were G. P. Shipp, R. E. Smith, A. J. Dunston and A. H. McDonald. Supported by a travelling scholarship from Sydney, Jocelyn studied at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

(1955–57), completing part II of the classical

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

. He received the Sandys (1957) and Craven (1958) studentships from Cambridge and was student at the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. History The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...

from 1957 to 1959. During that time, he completed

doctoral studies 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 ...

at Cambridge under C. O. Brink. Among his other influences were Scevola Mariotti. His

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

was awarded in 1963.

J. N. Adams ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

"Henry David Jocelyn, 1933–2000"
'' Proceedings of the British Academy'', vol. 120 (2003), pp. 277–299.

Career

By that time, Jocelyn had been a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in Latin at the University of Sydney for three years; he was promoted to a senior lectureship in 1964 and a

readership Readership may refer to: * The group of readers of a particular publication or writer: their target audience * The total number of readers of a particular publication (newspaper, magazine, book), as proxy-measured by web/app views or print circulat ...

two years later. He published his doctoral dissertation as ''The Tragedies of

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria, ...

'' in 1967 and was promoted to a

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 ...

ship at Sydney in 1970. In 1972, he published a book-length translation, '' Regnier de Graaf on the Human Reproductive Organs'' in the '' Journal of Reproduction and Fertility''. He was appointed Hulme Professor of Latin at the

in 1973, succeeding

George Kerferd George Briscoe Kerferd (21 January 1831 – 31 December 1889), Australian colonial politician, was the 10th Premier of Victoria. Kerferd was born in Liverpool, the son of G. B. Kerferd, a merchant (or Joseph Kerferd, a bookkeeper, and his wif ...

; his appointment was almost certainly made on the advice of Smith, who had moved to Manchester from Sydney. Jocelyn remained there for 23 years, retiring in 1996."Professor Harry Jocelyn", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 23 November 2000, p. 31. . Though his ''Tragedies of Ennius'' would be his only book, he edited

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

s for Brink and his former Cambridge contemporary F. R. D. Goodyear; he also wrote over 80 articles, 50 chapters and other papers, and 130 reviews. He was elected a

fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

in 1970 and a

fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1982. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the University of Sydney in 1995. Aside from his classical scholarship, Jocelyn was noted for his outspoken nature. He died on 22 October 2000; his wife, Margaret, and their two children survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jocelyn, Harry 1933 births 2000 deaths Australian classical scholars Australian Latinists University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney Academics of the University of Manchester Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities