Henry Graham Dakyns, often H. G. Dakyns (1838–1911), was a British translator of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

, best known for his translations of

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

: the ''

Cyropaedia The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of Soc ...

'' and ''

Hellenica ''Hellenica'' ( grc, Ἑλληνικά) simply means writings on Greek (Hellenic) subjects. Several histories of 4th-century Greece, written in the mould of Thucydides or straying from it, have borne the conventional Latin title ''Hellenica''. Th ...

'', ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', '' Hiero'' and ''

On Horsemanship ''On Horsemanship'' is the English title usually given to ', ''peri hippikēs'', one of the two treatises on horsemanship by the Athenian historian and soldier Xenophon (c. 430–354 BC). Other common titles for this work are ''De equis alendis' ...

''.

Life

Henry Graham Dakyns was born on Saint Vincent in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, the second son of Thomas Henry Dakyns of

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

. His mother Harriet Dasent was the sister of

George Webbe Dasent Sir George Webbe Dasent, D. C. L. (1817–1896) was a British translator of folk tales and contributor to ''The Times''. Life Dasent was born 22 May 1817 at St. Vincent, British West Indies, the son of the attorney general, John Roche Dasent. Hi ...

, translator of the Icelandic sagas. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated BA in 1860. Dakyns was a tutor for

Lord Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

's children, and subsequently House Master and Assistant Master at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

from 1862 to 1889. Though he never played himself, he started the

Rugby Football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

Club at

. Graham had numerous correspondences with Tennyson and his wife,

Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist. He was the Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1883 until his death, and is best known in philos ...

John Addington Symonds John Addington Symonds, Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although m ...

and

T.E. Brown Thomas Edward Brown (5 May 183029 October 1897), commonly referred to as T. E. Brown, was a late- Victorian scholar, schoolmaster, poet, and theologian from the Isle of Man. Having achieved a double first at Christ Church, Oxford, and elect ...

and other nineteenth century literary figures.

Translations

Agesilaus Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony ...

, Project Gutenberg *

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

, Project Gutenberg * The Cavalry General *

, Gutenberg Pres

*

, Gutenberg Press * Hiero by

, Gutenberg Press * Memorabilia (Xenophon), The Memorabilia, Project Gutenberg *

by Xenophon, Gutenberg Press * On Revenues, Project Gutenberg * The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, Project Gutenberg * The Sportsman, Project Gutenberg * The Symposium, Project Gutenberg

Works on Dakyns

*''Letters to a Tutor: The Tennyson Family Letters to Henry Graham Dakyns'' by Robert Peters. Scarecrow Press, 1989

References

External links

* * *
Letters between T.E. Brown & Grahams
* Henry Graham Dakyns Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1911 deaths 1838 births Greek–English translators People educated at Rugby School 19th-century British translators {{UK-translator-stub