James Harry Robb (April 25, 1918 – September 16, 1993) was a professor of philosophy at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

, and was considered an expert in

medieval philosophy Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...

and of the teachings of

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

Biography

James H. Robb was born on April 25, 1918 in

Bena, Minnesota Bena ( ) is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 116 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Bena has been in operation since 1898. Bena is a ty ...

, to James Gilbert Robb and Anna Hauck Robb. He attended St. Cloud State Teachers College, completing his Bachelor of Science degree in English and psychology in 1940. After two years of teaching high school English, Robb entered the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

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 served as an officer (captain) in the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

theaters until his discharge in 1946. After the war and his conversion to

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, he entered Marquette University, where he received his second bachelor's degree in philosophy and Latin in 1948. Robb next pursued graduate studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, receiving a Licentiate in Medieval Studies summa cum laude from the Pontifical Institute in 1952 and a M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the

in 1953. After a Fulbright year in Paris, where he studied medieval philosophy and French cuisine, he began his teaching career at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

Marquette University (1956–1991)

Robb returned to

in 1956, becoming one of the schools most popular professors over a thirty-year span until his retirement in 1991. Along with a great knowledge of

Charles Peguy Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, Robb was an expert on

Medieval Philosophy Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...

in general and

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

in particular and was the author/editor of three books: St. Thomas Questions on the Soul (1984); Man as Infinite Spirit (1974); critical edition of S. Thomae Aquinatis Quaestiones De Anima (1968) and numerous articles. He also served for over twenty-five years as Editor-in-Chief of the Marquette series, Mediaeval Philosophical Texts in Translation. James H. Robb died in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

on September 16, 1993.

Books

*Man as Infinite Spirit (1974) *Questions on the Soul : St. Thomas Aquinas (1984)

Archival collections

Dr. James H. Robb Papers, 1918–1993, Marquette University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, James 20th-century American philosophers 1993 deaths 1918 births St. Cloud State University alumni University of Toronto alumni Marquette University faculty Fulbright alumni

Biography

Marquette University (1956–1991)

Books

Archival collections

See also

References