Charles Rockwell Lanman
Encyclopedia
Charles Rockwell Lanman (July 8, 1850–February 20, 1941) was an American
scholar of the Sanskrit language.
, the eighth of the nine children of Peter Lanman III and Catherine (Cook) Lanman on July 8, 1850. His mother died when he was three years old, and his aunt Abigail (Abby) Trumbull Lanman helped raise him. His Aunt Abby was an artist, and as one of two legatee
s of the estate of her great uncle American Revolutionary War
artist
John Trumbull
, inherited many of Trumbull's Revolutionary War period paintings and sketches. At age ten, a young Charles Lanman read a copy of the Journal of the American Oriental Society containing a translation of a textbook of Hindu
astronomy
, which sparked his interest in Sanskrit
. Lanman graduated from Yale College
(Phi Beta Kappa) in 1871, was a graduate student there (1871–1873) studying Greek under James Hadley
and Sanskrit under WD Whitney
, and in Germany
(1873–1876) studied Sanskrit
under Weber and Roth and philology
under Georg Curtius
and August Leskien
.
He married Mary Billings Hinckley on July 18, 1888 at Beach Bluff, Massachusetts
. She was descended from Thomas Hinckley
, the last governor of Plymouth Colony
. Professor Lanman spent his sabbatical year with his new wife in India
on a one-year honeymoon. As he travelled across India
in 1889 he bought for Harvard University
some 500 Sanskrit and Prakrit
books and manuscripts, which, with those subsequently bequeathed to the university by Fitzedward Hall
, make the most valuable collection of its kind in America, and made possible the Harvard Oriental Series, edited by Lanman.
Upon their return from India, in 1890, the Lanmans built a home at 9 Farrar Street in Cambridge
where he lived until his death.
Charles and Mary Lanman had six children.
when it opened in 1876. He was a professor of Sanskrit at Hopkins
from 1876 to 1880. In 1880 Lanman moved to Harvard University
where he was the first to preside over the department of Indo-Iranian Languages, which became the department of Indic Philology in 1902, and ultimately became the department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies in 1951.
From 1879 to 1884 he was secretary and editor of the Transactions, and in 1889-1890 president of the American Philological Association
, and in 1884-1894 he was corresponding secretary of the American Oriental Society
, from 1897 to 1907 vice-president, and in 1907-1908 president.
He was also Honorary Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, of France, of England, and of Germany and Corresponding Member of the Society of Sciences at Göttingen
, the Russian Academy of Sciences
, and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
of the Institute of France
. Lanman was a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
Professor Lanman received an LL.D. from Yale
in 1902 and an LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen
in 1906, the latter university's 400th anniversary.
's Karpura-Manjari (1900), a Prakrit drama, and (vols. vii and viii) revised and edited Whitney's translation of, and notes on, the Atharva-Veda Samhit (2 vols, 1905); he published A Sanskrit Reader, with Vocabulary and Notes, which is still the standard introductory text today.
in 1926 and became professor emeritus. Most of the foremost Sanskrit scholars in this country were once his pupils or collaborators, or both. A vigorous man, Lanman rowed daily on the Charles River
until age 88, ice permitting, and was nicknamed "Charles River Lanman" by the Harvard Crimson
. It was his proudest boast that he had rowed 12,000 miles on the river which shared his name.
Charles Rockwell Lanman died on February 20, 1941 at age 90.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scholar of the Sanskrit language.
Early Life and Education
Charles Rockwell Lanman was born in Norwich, ConnecticutNorwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, the eighth of the nine children of Peter Lanman III and Catherine (Cook) Lanman on July 8, 1850. His mother died when he was three years old, and his aunt Abigail (Abby) Trumbull Lanman helped raise him. His Aunt Abby was an artist, and as one of two legatee
Legatee
A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator's estate.-Usage:Depending upon local custom, legatees may be called "devisees." Traditionally, "legatees" took personal property under will and "devisees" took land under will. Brooker v....
s of the estate of her great uncle American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
John Trumbull
John Trumbull
John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...
, inherited many of Trumbull's Revolutionary War period paintings and sketches. At age ten, a young Charles Lanman read a copy of the Journal of the American Oriental Society containing a translation of a textbook of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, which sparked his interest in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. Lanman graduated from Yale College
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(Phi Beta Kappa) in 1871, was a graduate student there (1871–1873) studying Greek under James Hadley
James Hadley
James Hadley was an American scholar who was born in Fairfield, New York, where his father was professor of chemistry at Fairfield Medical College. At the age of nine an accident left him lame for life...
and Sanskrit under WD Whitney
William Dwight Whitney
William Dwight Whitney was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer who edited The Century Dictionary.-Life:William Dwight Whitney was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1827. His father was Josiah Dwight Whitney of the New England Dwight family...
, and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1873–1876) studied Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
under Weber and Roth and philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
under Georg Curtius
Georg Curtius
Georg Curtius was a German philologist.-Biography:After an education at Bonn and Berlin, he was for three years a schoolmaster in Dresden, until he returned to Berlin University as privatdocent...
and August Leskien
August Leskien
August Leskien was a German linguist active in the field of comparative linguistics, particularly relating to the Baltic and Slavic languages.-Biography:...
.
He married Mary Billings Hinckley on July 18, 1888 at Beach Bluff, Massachusetts
Swampscott, Massachusetts
Swampscott is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States located 15 miles up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population is 13,787...
. She was descended from Thomas Hinckley
Thomas Hinckley
Thomas Hinckley was the governor of the Plymouth Colony and held several other governmental positions during his lifetime, including that of a representative, a deputy, magistrate, and assistant, among others...
, the last governor of Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. Professor Lanman spent his sabbatical year with his new wife in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on a one-year honeymoon. As he travelled across India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1889 he bought for Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
some 500 Sanskrit and Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
books and manuscripts, which, with those subsequently bequeathed to the university by Fitzedward Hall
Fitzedward Hall
Fitzedward Hall , American Orientalist, was born in Troy, New York.He graduated with the degree of civil engineer from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy in 1842, and entered Harvard in the class of 1846; just before his class graduated he left college and went to India in search of a...
, make the most valuable collection of its kind in America, and made possible the Harvard Oriental Series, edited by Lanman.
Upon their return from India, in 1890, the Lanmans built a home at 9 Farrar Street in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
where he lived until his death.
Charles and Mary Lanman had six children.
Academic career
He was called to teach at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
when it opened in 1876. He was a professor of Sanskrit at Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
from 1876 to 1880. In 1880 Lanman moved to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he was the first to preside over the department of Indo-Iranian Languages, which became the department of Indic Philology in 1902, and ultimately became the department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies in 1951.
From 1879 to 1884 he was secretary and editor of the Transactions, and in 1889-1890 president of the American Philological Association
American Philological Association
The American Philological Association , founded in 1869, is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization...
, and in 1884-1894 he was corresponding secretary of the American Oriental Society
American Oriental Society
The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....
, from 1897 to 1907 vice-president, and in 1907-1908 president.
He was also Honorary Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, of France, of England, and of Germany and Corresponding Member of the Society of Sciences at Göttingen
Göttingen Academy of Sciences
The Göttingen Academy of Sciences is the second oldest of the seven academies of sciences in Germany. It has the task of promoting research under its own auspices and in collaboration with academics in and outside Germany...
, the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
of the Institute of France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
. Lanman was a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Professor Lanman received an LL.D. from Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1902 and an LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
in 1906, the latter university's 400th anniversary.
Literary works
In the Harvard Oriental Series Lanman translated (vol. iv.) into English RajacekharaRajasekhara
Rajashekhara was an eminent Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic. He was court poet of the Gurjara Pratiharas.He wrote Kavyamimamsa between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. The fame of Rajashekhara...
's Karpura-Manjari (1900), a Prakrit drama, and (vols. vii and viii) revised and edited Whitney's translation of, and notes on, the Atharva-Veda Samhit (2 vols, 1905); he published A Sanskrit Reader, with Vocabulary and Notes, which is still the standard introductory text today.
Retirement
He retired from HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1926 and became professor emeritus. Most of the foremost Sanskrit scholars in this country were once his pupils or collaborators, or both. A vigorous man, Lanman rowed daily on the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
until age 88, ice permitting, and was nicknamed "Charles River Lanman" by the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
. It was his proudest boast that he had rowed 12,000 miles on the river which shared his name.
Charles Rockwell Lanman died on February 20, 1941 at age 90.