William Ramsay (6 February 1806, Edinburgh – 12 February 1865, Sanremo) was a

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 ...

. He was born 6 February 1806,Memoirs and portraits of one hundred Glasgow men - William Ramsay
/ref> and was the third son of Sir William Ramsay, the seventh baronet of Bamff. "Ramsay, William (1806-1865)" entry in ''Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900'', Volume 47. He received his first education in the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

. He studied

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and mathematics at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1823 to 1825.The University of Glasgow story - William Ramsay
/ref> He then studied at

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

, where he graduated BA in 1831. He returned to Glasgow University, where he was elected Professor of Humanity, Glasgow. He married Catherine Davidson, by whom he had a daughter, Catherine Lilias Harriet. He published many works between 1833 and 1859. In May 1863 Ramsay resigned his professorship through failing health, and spent the following winter in Rome, collating the most important manuscripts of

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

. He died at

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

on 12 February 1865. His principal publications are: *''Hutton's "Course of Mathematics", remodelled by W. R.'' 1833, 8vo. 2. *''An Elementary Treatise on Latin Prosody'', Glasgow, 1837, 12mo; revised 1859, 8vo. 3. *''Elegiac Extracts from Tibullus and Ovid'', with notes, 1840, 12mo, and other editions. *''Cicero Pro Cluentio'', edited with prolegomena, 1858, 8vo. 5. *''An Elementary Manual of Roman Antiquities'', with illustrations, London and Glasgow, 1859, 8vo, and other editions. *''The Mostellaria of Plautus'', with notes, 1869, 8vo (posthumous). Ramsay also wrote a ''Manual of Roman Antiquities'' in the third division of the ''

Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the proje ...

'' (1848, etc.), and contributed to William Smith's dictionaries of Classical ‘Antiquities,’ ‘Geography,’ and ‘Biography,’ including the article on

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, William 1806 births 1865 deaths Classical scholars of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Scottish classical scholars People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scholars of Latin literature