Tenney Frank
Encyclopedia
Tenney Frank was a prominent ancient historian and classical scholar.
in 1898 and A.M. the following year. Frank went on to receive his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago
in 1903. Frank taught at Bryn Mawr College
as Professor of Latin from 1904 until 1919, when he moved to the Johns Hopkins University
. At Bryn Mawr Frank wrote and published his influential study Roman Imperialism in 1914. Frank believed that Rome's imperialism
stemmed from a desire to keep peace in the Mediterranean world by preventing the rise of any rival power. Frank's other work focused on classical literature, with articles on Cicero
, Strabo
, Curiatius Maternus
, Plautus
, and Virgil
, among others.
He wrote periodically for the American Historical Review, including a paper on the demise of the various ancient Italian peoples that comprised the Roman
ethnicity in Julius Caesar
's day. Arguing that Roman expansion brought in masses of foreign peoples and slaves that over time changed the ethnic make-up of the Roman populace and contributed to the empire's ruin.
He worked on Latin inscriptions, including the stele
from the Forum Romanum in Rome (see "On the Stele of the Forum" Classical Philology 14.1 (Jan., 1919), pp. 87‑88), and on Roman construction and the Servian Wall
of Rome (see "Notes on the Servian Wall" American Journal of Archaeology 22.2 (Apr., 1918), pp. 175‑188 and "The Letters on the Blocks of the Servian Wall" The American Journal of Philology 45.1 (1924), pp. 68‑69). His work on the Roman economy
was a seminal study of the economy and trade in the Roman world.
He married Grace Edith Mayer in 1907. Of Swedish ancestry, Frank was influenced by his agrarian roots. He was also multilingual and had a great facility for languages, including Scandinavian
tongues. At Johns Hopkins, Frank trained Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton
, with whom he collaborated on his studies of the Roman economy. A bibliography of Frank's work may be found in The American Journal of Philology 60.3 (1939).
Biography
Tenney Frank earned his A.B. at the University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1898 and A.M. the following year. Frank went on to receive his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1903. Frank taught at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
as Professor of Latin from 1904 until 1919, when he moved to the Johns Hopkins University
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...
. At Bryn Mawr Frank wrote and published his influential study Roman Imperialism in 1914. Frank believed that Rome's imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
stemmed from a desire to keep peace in the Mediterranean world by preventing the rise of any rival power. Frank's other work focused on classical literature, with articles 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...
, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, Curiatius Maternus
Curiatius Maternus
Curiatius Maternus appears in the Dialogues of Tacitus. He was clearly an author of tragedies in Latin, having composed a Domitius, a Medea, and a Cato by AD 74 or 75...
, Plautus
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
, and Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, among others.
He wrote periodically for the American Historical Review, including a paper on the demise of the various ancient Italian peoples that comprised the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
ethnicity in Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's day. Arguing that Roman expansion brought in masses of foreign peoples and slaves that over time changed the ethnic make-up of the Roman populace and contributed to the empire's ruin.
He worked on Latin inscriptions, including the stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
from the Forum Romanum in Rome (see "On the Stele of the Forum" Classical Philology 14.1 (Jan., 1919), pp. 87‑88), and on Roman construction and the Servian Wall
Servian Wall
The Servian Wall was a defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was up to 10 metres in height in places, 3.6 metres wide at its base, 11 km long, and is believed to had 16 main gates, though many of these are mentioned only from...
of Rome (see "Notes on the Servian Wall" American Journal of Archaeology 22.2 (Apr., 1918), pp. 175‑188 and "The Letters on the Blocks of the Servian Wall" The American Journal of Philology 45.1 (1924), pp. 68‑69). His work on the Roman economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
was a seminal study of the economy and trade in the Roman world.
He married Grace Edith Mayer in 1907. Of Swedish ancestry, Frank was influenced by his agrarian roots. He was also multilingual and had a great facility for languages, including Scandinavian
North Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages, the languages of Scandinavians, make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages...
tongues. At Johns Hopkins, Frank trained Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton
Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton
Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton was a Canadian classical scholar and leading Latin prosopographer of the twentieth century. He is especially noted for his definitive three-volume work, Magistrates of the Roman Republic ....
, with whom he collaborated on his studies of the Roman economy. A bibliography of Frank's work may be found in The American Journal of Philology 60.3 (1939).
Selected bibliography
- A History of Rome (1923).
- Economic History of Rome (1920, rev. ed. 1927).
- Roman buildings of the republic, an attempt to date them from their materials Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome v. 3 (Rome, 1924).
- Catullus and Horace (1928, repr. 1965).
- Life and Literature in the Roman Republic (Sather Lecture, 1930).
- An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome I and V (1933 & 1940).
Necrology
- Norman W. DeWitt "Tenney Frank" The American Journal of Philology 60.3 (1939), pp. 273–287.
External links
- Works by Tenney Frank at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Antiquary's Shoebox at LacusCurtius: several journal articles by Tenney Frank
- RACE MIXTURE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, by Tenney Frank; American Historical Review; July 1916, vol. 21, no. 4: 689–708