John Penrose Barron, (27 April 1934 – 16 August 2008) was a British classical scholar. He was Director of the

Institute of Classical Studies The Institute of Classical Studies is a research institution associated with the University of London and a member of the School of Advanced Study. The institute is a national and international research institute in the languages, literature, his ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 1984 to 1991, and

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th c ...

, from 1991 to 2003.

Early life and education

Barron was born on 27 April 1934 in

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

, Yorkshire, England. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, an all-boys

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, and at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

, then also an all-boys independent school in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. He

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

into

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, in 1953; he had originally intended to study law but was convinced by a college tutor to switch to '' Lit. Hum.'' (

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 ...

). Among his

tutors Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...

were

Kenneth Dover Sir Kenneth James Dover, (11 March 1920 – 7 March 2010) was a distinguished British classical scholar and academic. He was president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from 1976 to 1986. In addition, he was president of the British Academy fro ...

and

Russell Meiggs Russell Meiggs (20 October 1902 – 24 June 1989) was a British ancient historian. He did extensive research on the Roman port city of Ostia. Early life and education Meiggs was born at Balham, south London, son of William Herrick Meiggs (1866 ...

. He graduated from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a first class Bachelor of Arts (

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

) degree in 1957. He remained at Oxford to study for a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree under the

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...

Antony Andrewes Antony Andrewes, (12 June 1910 – 13 June 1990) was an English classical scholar and historian. He was Wykeham Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford from 1953 to 1977. Early life Andrewes was born in Tavistock, Devon, Englan ...

, which he completed in 1961. His

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was on the early history of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, and was titled ''The history of Samos to 439 B. C.''.

Academic career

Barron began his academic career in 1959, having been appointed an assistant lecturer in Latin at Bedford College, London: he was promoted to lecturer in 1961. In 1964, he joined

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, London as a lecturer in archaeology. He was appointed

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in Archaeology and

Numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

in 1967. In 1971, he was appointed

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Greek Language and Literature at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

: he was therefore appointed to a chair at the unusually young age of 37. He was Head of the King's Department of Classics from 1972 to 1984, and

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of its

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

from 1976 to 1980. He then moved into leadership positions in the wider

, serving as Director of the

from 1984 to 1991, and Dean of the Institute for Advanced Study from 1989 to 1991. He was "instrumental in setting up the University of London Institute for Advanced Study", an body which brought together the various research institutes of the university: it would go on to become the

School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...

. In 1991, Barron was elected the 7th Master of

. He would go on to serve two five-year terms and a two-year extension, before retiring in 2003. During his time as master, he increased the number of female students at his college from fewer than 30 percent to almost half. He also greatly expanded the physical footprint of the college, adding three new buildings. He also attempted to add the former

Oxford Prison Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and ...

to the portfolio but this was vetoed by the college's governing body. He was also Chairman of the Conference of Colleges, the association of

Oxford Colleges The University of Oxford has thirty-nine colleges, and five permanent private halls (PPHs) of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university. These colleges are not only houses of residen ...

, from 1993 to 1995, and Chairman of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

's Admissions Committee from 1997 to 2000. As the latter, he aimed to widen the university's intake, and encouraged an increase in the number of

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

educated students. In retirement, he was an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of St Peter's College, Oxford and a visiting professor at King's College, London.

Personal life

In 1962, Barron married Caroline Mary Hogarth, a medieval historian. She is the granddaughter of

David George Hogarth David George Hogarth (23 May 1862 – 6 November 1927), also known as D. G. Hogarth, was a British archaeologist and scholar associated with T. E. Lawrence and Arthur Evans. He was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford from 1909 to 1927. Hog ...

, a noted archaeologist and decorated naval intelligence officer. Together they had two daughters. After a short time living with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

, Barron died on 16 August 2008 in London, England: he was aged 74.

Selected works

* * * * *

References

External links

St Peter's College – Archives: The Papers of Professor John Barron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, John 1934 births 2008 deaths British classical scholars Academics of Bedford College, London Masters of St Peter's College, Oxford Classical scholars of the University of London People from Morley, West Yorkshire People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of Academia Europaea Academics of University College London Classical archaeologists British numismatists Academics of King's College London Deaths from pancreatic cancer People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Deaths from cancer in England