John Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon, FBA (4 November 1901 – 18 September 1977), known as J. P. V. D. Balsdon in his academic work and otherwise as Dacre Balsdon, was an English ancient historian and writer. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Exeter College, Oxford, from 1927 to 1969, and President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 1968 to 1971.

Early life

Balsdon was born on 4 November 1901 in Bideford, Devon. He was educated at

Exeter School Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

, Exeter. He studied classics at Exeter College, Oxford. In 1922, he was awarded first class honours in Mods, and in 1924 he was also awarded first class honours in Greats.

Academic career

Balsdon began his academic career as a teacher at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

, then an all boys

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. His first university post was as a

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

. From 1927, he was a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, where he taught Ancient History. His research was primarily in Roman History. In 1940, he was elected Junior Proctor of

Oxford University 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 ...

; serving from March 1940 to March 1941. In 1956, he was a candidate for the Rectorship of Exeter College, but lost out to

Kenneth Wheare Sir Kenneth Clinton Wheare, CMG (26 March 1907 – 7 September 1979) was an Australian academic, who spent most of his career at Oxford University in England. He was an expert on the constitutions of the British Commonwealth. He advised constitut ...

. He served as President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 1968 to 1971. He retired from full-time academia in 1969. The same year he was elected an

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Fellow of Exeter College. He also wrote novels using the name ''Dacre Balsdon''; his academic works gave his name as Balsdon. He was elected

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 ...

(FBA) in 1967.

Bibliography

As J. P. V. D. Balsdon: *''The Emperor Gaius (Caligula)'' (1934) *''Roman Women: Their History and Habits'' (1962) *''Julius Caesar and Rome'' (1967) *''The Romans'' (editor) (1965) *''Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome'' (1969) *''Rome: the Story of an Empire'' (1970) *''The Historical Background'' (1974) *''Social Life in the Early Empire'' (1974) *''Romans and Aliens'' (1980) As Dacre Balsdon: *''Freshman's Folly: An Oxford Comedy '' (1952) *''Oxford Life'' (1957) *''The Day They Burned Miss Termag'' (1961) *''Oxford Now and Then'' (1970)

Early life

Academic career

Bibliography

References

Further reading