Ronald Arthur Crossland (31 August 1920 – 29 January 2006) was an English

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

who was Professor of Greek at

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

from 1958 to 1982. He was a leading expert on Hittite philology and linguistics.

Biography

Ronald Arthur Crossland was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England on 31 August 1920. His father was a Nottingham headmaster. A graduate of

Nottingham High School , motto_translation = Praise to the end , address = Waverley Mount , city = Nottingham , county = Nottinghamshire , postcode = NG7 4ED , country = England , coordinates = , type = Independent day school , established = , closed = , religious ...

, Crossland went up as a Major Scholar in

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

in 1939. In 1941 Crossland joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He saw active service until the end of

World War II 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 ...

, rising to the rank of lieutenant in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He was severely wounded during the landings at the

Battle of Anzio The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

. In 1946, Crossland earned a

Double First The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in Classics at King's College, Cambridge. He became a Henry Fellow at

Berkeley College Berkeley College is a Private college, private for-profit college with campuses in New York (state), New York, New Jersey, and online. It was founded in 1931 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Berkeley Coll ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1946. Gaining an MA, Crossland was instructor in Classics at Yale University from 1947 to 1948. On account of his research on Hittite philology and linguistics, Crossland was from 1948 to 1951 a Senior Student at the Treasury Committee for Studentships in Foreign Languages and Cultures. From 1950 to 1951, Crossland was Honorary Lecturer in Ancient History at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. From 1951 to 1958, he was lecturer in Ancient History at

King's College, Durham The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges that are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing a focus for social, cultural and sporting ...

. From 1952 to 1956 he was simultaneously a Harris Fellow at King's College, Cambridge. During this time, Crossland held visiting appointments at the universities of Birmingham,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and at the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin. From 1958 to 1982, Crossland was Professor of Greek at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. His appointment at the University of Sheffield was strongly recommended by

T. B. L. Webster Thomas Bertram Lonsdale Webster (3 July 1905 – 31 May 1974) was a British archaeologist and Classicist, known for his studies of Greek comedy. Background He was the son of Sir Thomas Lonsdale Webster. During World War I he attended Charte ...

, who was eager to ensure that a talented young Hellenist would fill the position of the late Jonathan Tate. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1973 to 1975. Crossland was renowned as an expert on Hittite philology and linguistics, and for his efforts to encourage interdisciplinary research on the history of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

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 ...

. Crossland retired from Sheffield University as Professor Emeritus in 1982. He died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England on 29 January 2006.

Selected works

* ''Bronze Age migrations in the Aegean'', 1970

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossland, Ronald 1920 births 2006 deaths Military personnel from Nottingham Italian campaign (World War II) Academics of Durham University Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Classical scholars of Yale University English classical scholars Hittitologists People from Nottingham Royal Artillery officers Yale University alumni Yale University fellows