Gilbert Austin Davies was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 classical

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

 scholar.

Life

After education at Aldenham Grammar School

Aldenham School

Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged thirteen to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England...

 and Owen’s College, Manchester, Davies went up to Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

 as a scholar in 1887. He began his academic career at Trinity, where he was a Fellow from 1892 to 1898, during which time he produced a school edition of the first book of Tacitus's

Tacitus

Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...

 Histories

Histories (Tacitus)

Histories is a book by Tacitus, written c. 100–110, which covers the Year of Four Emperors following the downfall of Nero, the rise of Vespasian, and the rule of the Flavian Dynasty up to the death of Domitian.thumb|180px|Tacitus...

 in 1896.

In 1898 he was appointed as the second Gladstone Professor of Greek

Gladstone Professor of Greek

The Gladstone Chair of Greek was one of the original endowments of the foundation of the University of Liverpool in 1881. The Chair was named in recognition of the scholarship of W E Gladstone, the British prime minister, and the close association of the Gladstone family with Liverpool.With the...

 at the still new University of Liverpool

University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...

 before moving in 1906 to the more long-established chair in Greek

Professor of Greek, Glasgow

University of GlasgowUnder the Nova Erectio of King James VI the teaching of Greek was the responsibility of the Regents and from 1581 one of the Regents was sometimes given the title 'Professor of Greek'...

 at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

, a position he held until retirement in 1934. His service in Glasgow was interposed by voluntary work during the First World War for the Serbian Relief Fund, for which he received the award of the Serbian Order of St Sava

Order of St. Sava

The Order of St. Sava was a decoration instituted by the order King Milan I of Serbia in 1883. The Order of Saint Sava originally was established to recognize civilians for meritorious achievements in the arts and sciences. In 1914 a change was made permitting military personnel to receive the...

.

Davies produced abridged versions of the commentaries of Jebb

Richard Claverhouse Jebb

Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb, OM, FBA was a British classical scholar and politician.He was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father was a well-known barrister, and his grandfather a judge...

 on two of Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...

' plays, Trachiniai and Electra

Electra (Sophocles)

Electra or Elektra is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the Philoctetes and the Oedipus at Colonus lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of Sophocles' career.Set in the city of Argos a few years after the Trojan...

, both of which have been reprinted in 2010, and an edition of the First

First Philippic

The First Philippic was delivered by the Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes between 351 BC-350 BC. It constitutes the first speech of the prominent politician against Philip II of Macedon.-Historical framework:...

, Second

Second Philippic

The Second Philippic is an oration that was delivered by the Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes between 344 BC-343 BC. The speech constitutes the second of the four philippics the orator is said to have delivered.-Historical background:...

 and Third Philippic

Third Philippic

The Third Philippic was delivered by the prominent Athenian statesman and orator, Demosthenes, in 341 BC. It constitutes the third of the four philippics.-Historical background:...

s of Demosthenes

Demosthenes

Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...

.Review in The Classical Journal Volume 5, No 7, May 1910