John Frederick Stenning, (14 February 1868 – 18 November 1959) was an English

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and Semitic scholar,

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

, and British Army officer. Elected a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford in 1898, he was Reader in Aramaic at the University of Oxford from 1909 to 1927 and

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of Wadham College from 1927 to 1939. Outside of academia, he was a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the British Army, and served as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of Oxford's Officers' Training Corps and also of an

Officer Cadet Battalion An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

during the First World War.

Early life and education

Stenning was born on 14 February 1868 in Beckenham, Kent, England. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, an all-boys

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

then in London. In 1886, he matriculated into Wadham College, Oxford as a Hody exhibitioner. Having studied theology, he achieved second class honours in 1889. He continued his undergraduate studies in Oriental languages, specialising in Hebrew and Aramaic, achieving first class honours in 1891. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1889, and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1893.

Career

Academic career

From 1893 to 1897, Stenning was a Senior Demy of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. In 1894, he visited the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

alongside his friend Arthur Cowley (later Bodley's Librarian). The aim of this trip was to study the

Semitic Semitic most commonly refers to the Semitic languages, a name used since the 1770s to refer to the language family currently present in West Asia, North and East Africa, and Malta. Semitic may also refer to: Religions * Abrahamic religions ** ...

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

held in monasteries, particularly those at

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

in the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

. In 1898, he returned to his ''alma mater'' Wadham College, Oxford having been elected a Fellow. He was also a lecturer in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

at the University of Oxford, before being appointed Reader in Aramaic in 1909. At college level, he served as dean,

senior tutor Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, and bursar, before being elected

of Wadham College on 24 June 1927. With the additional administrative duties required from being the head of a college, his readership became honorary, although he did continue teaching. He stepped down as warden in 1938/1939 and

Maurice Bowra Sir Cecil Maurice Bowra, (; 8 April 1898 – 4 July 1971) was an English classical scholar, literary critic and academic, known for his wit. He was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, from 1938 to 1970, and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Univer ...

was elected to succeed him.

Military service

Stenning served with the 1st (Oxford University) Volunteer Battalion,

Oxfordshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

: this battalion was part of the Volunteer Force, and as such his service would have been a part-time. He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 September 1905. He resigned his commission on 19 November 1907. On 26 May 1909, he rejoined the British Army to serve with the newly created Oxford Officers' Training Corps (OTC), and was promoted to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. On 22 March 1912, he was promoted to

, and took command of the Oxford OTC. From 1916 to 1918, he was also

of an Officer Cadet Battalion. These provided officer training to those who had served in the ranks or had been part of the OTC, before they were commissioned in the British Army. He relinquished his commission on 11 September 1919 and was allowed to retain his rank.

Personal life

Stenning was married to Ethelwyn (née Alexander). Together they had one son and one daughter. His wife predeceased him, dying in 1957. Stenning died on 18 November 1959, aged 91.

Honours

In the

1916 King's Birthday Honours The 1916 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

, Stenning was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in recognition of service during the war. In the

1919 King's Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for valuable services rendered in connection with the War.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenning, John 1868 births 1959 deaths British biblical scholars Military personnel from Kent Semiticists Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Wardens of Wadham College, Oxford Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Beckenham People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Officers' Training Corps officers