D. R. Shackleton Bailey
Encyclopedia
David Roy Shackleton Bailey, FBA
, (10 December 1917 – 28 November 2005) was a British scholar of Latin
literature (particularly in the field of textual criticism
) who spent his academic life teaching at the University of Cambridge
, the University of Michigan
, and Harvard
. He is best known for his work on Cicero
, especially his commentaries
and translation
s of Cicero's letters.
, where his mathematician father was headmaster, Shackleton Bailey read first Classics and then Oriental Studies at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, before spending the years of the Second World War at Bletchley Park
, the home of the British code-breaking efforts. He returned to Caius as a fellow in 1944, and in 1948 obtained a lectureship in Tibetan at Cambridge University
. In 1955 he migrated to Jesus College, Cambridge
, where, as Director of Studies in Classics, he began publishing the long series of books and articles on Latin authors that would occupy the rest of his life. He spent four more years at Caius from 1964 to 1968, this time serving as Bursar and Senior Bursar; his move this time was reputedly because Sir Denys Page
, Master of Jesus, refused to allow Shack (as he was commonly known) to have a cat-flap installed in his ancient oak door. In 1968 he crossed the Atlantic, specifically to the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor; and in 1976 he moved to Harvard University
(whose Classics department he had visited in 1963), first as Professor of Greek and Latin, then (from 1982) as Pope Professor of the Latin Language and Literature. He twice served as the editor of Harvard Studies in Classical Philology (1980-1981 and 1983-1985). In 1988 he retired from Harvard and became an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan
.
In 1967 he married Hilary Ann Bardwell
, the former wife of the British author Kingsley Amis
; this marriage was dissolved in 1975. In 1994 he married Kristine Zvirbulis. He was extremely fond of cats (the first volume of his seven-volume Cambridge University Press
edition of the Letters of Cicero
is dedicated to Donum, a feline present from Frances Lloyd-Jones) and of classical music.
In 1958 he earned the double honour of a fellowship of the British Academy
(whose Kenyon Medal he would be awarded in 1985) and a Litt.D. degree from Cambridge; he also held an honorary Litt.D. from Dublin University, awarded in 1984. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1975. He was a member of the American Philological Association, which awarded him the Goodwin Award for Merit in 1978; a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters; an honorary member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
; and an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
.
The bulk of his scholarly work focused on Latin philology and Roman history and prosopography. In retirement he prepared many editions for the Loeb Classical Library
published by Harvard University Press, including those of Martial, Valerius Maximus, Statius, and the correspondence of Cicero.
He died of Alzheimer's disease
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
.
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, (10 December 1917 – 28 November 2005) was a British scholar of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
literature (particularly in the field of textual criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
) who spent his academic life teaching at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and Harvard
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...
. He is best known for his work on Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, especially his commentaries
Commentary (philology)
In philology, a commentary is a line-by-line or even word-by-word explication usually attached to an edition of a text in the same or an accompanying volume. It may draw on methodologies of close reading and literary criticism, but its primary purpose is to elucidate the language of the text and...
and translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
s of Cicero's letters.
Academic career
After being educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar SchoolLancaster Royal Grammar School
Lancaster Royal Grammar School is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians...
, where his mathematician father was headmaster, Shackleton Bailey read first Classics and then Oriental Studies at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, before spending the years of the Second World War at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, the home of the British code-breaking efforts. He returned to Caius as a fellow in 1944, and in 1948 obtained a lectureship in Tibetan at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. In 1955 he migrated to Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, where, as Director of Studies in Classics, he began publishing the long series of books and articles on Latin authors that would occupy the rest of his life. He spent four more years at Caius from 1964 to 1968, this time serving as Bursar and Senior Bursar; his move this time was reputedly because Sir Denys Page
Denys Page
Sir Denys Lionel Page was a British classical scholar at Oxford and Cambridge.-Early life:Born at Reading, Page was the son of Frederick Harold Dunn Page, a chartered civil engineer of the Great Western Railway, and his wife Elsie Daniels. He was educated at St...
, Master of Jesus, refused to allow Shack (as he was commonly known) to have a cat-flap installed in his ancient oak door. In 1968 he crossed the Atlantic, specifically to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
at Ann Arbor; and in 1976 he 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...
(whose Classics department he had visited in 1963), first as Professor of Greek and Latin, then (from 1982) as Pope Professor of the Latin Language and Literature. He twice served as the editor of Harvard Studies in Classical Philology (1980-1981 and 1983-1985). In 1988 he retired from Harvard and became an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
In 1967 he married Hilary Ann Bardwell
Alastair Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock
Alastair Ivor Gilbert Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock was a British writer, Hispanophile, and Chief of the Clan Boyd.-Early life:...
, the former wife of the British author Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
; this marriage was dissolved in 1975. In 1994 he married Kristine Zvirbulis. He was extremely fond of cats (the first volume of his seven-volume Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
edition of the Letters of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
is dedicated to Donum, a feline present from Frances Lloyd-Jones) and of classical music.
In 1958 he earned the double honour of a fellowship of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(whose Kenyon Medal he would be awarded in 1985) and a Litt.D. degree from Cambridge; he also held an honorary Litt.D. from Dublin University, awarded in 1984. He was elected a Fellow of 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...
in 1975. He was a member of the American Philological Association, which awarded him the Goodwin Award for Merit in 1978; a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters; an honorary member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies....
; and an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
.
The bulk of his scholarly work focused on Latin philology and Roman history and prosopography. In retirement he prepared many editions for the Loeb Classical Library
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by Harvard University Press, which presents important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each...
published by Harvard University Press, including those of Martial, Valerius Maximus, Statius, and the correspondence of Cicero.
He died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Publications (selected)
- Propertiana (Cambridge, 1958).
- co-ed. with L.C. Purser and W.S. Watt. Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Epistulae. 3 v. (Oxford, 1965-71).
- ed. Cicero: Letters to Atticus 7 v. (Cambridge, 1965-70).
- ed. Cicero: Epistulae ad familiares 2 v. (Cambridge, 1977).
- trans. Cicero’s letters to his friends (Atlanta, 1978).
- Cicero’s Letters to Atticus 2 v. (Penguin, 1978).
- Profile of Horace (Harvard, 1982).
- ed. Anthologia Latina I fasc. 1: Libri Salmasiani aliorumque carmina (Stuttgart, 1982).
- ed. and trans. Cicero: Philippics (Chapel Hill, 1986).
- ed. M. Tulli Ciceronis Epistulae ad Atticum (1987).
- Onomasticon to Cicero’s speeches (Norman, 1988).
- ed. M. Annaei Lucani De bello civili libri X (Stuttgart, 1988; 1997²).
- ed. M. Valerii Martialis epigrammata (1990).
- Homoeoteleuton in Latin dactylic verse (Stuttgart, 1994).
- Onomasticon to Cicero’s letters (Stuttgart, 1995).
- Onomasticon to Cicero’s treatises (Stuttgart, 1996).
- Selected classical papers (Ann Arbor, 1997).
- ed. and trans. Valerius Maximus: Memorable doings and sayings 2 v. (Loeb Classical LibraryLoeb Classical LibraryThe Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by Harvard University Press, which presents important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each...
#s 492, 493, Harvard UP, 2000). - ed. and trans. Cicero: Letters to friends 3 v. (Loeb Classical LibraryLoeb Classical LibraryThe Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by Harvard University Press, which presents important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each...
#s 205, 216, 230, Harvard UP, 2001).