William Gardner Hale
Encyclopedia
William Gardner Hale American
classical scholar, was born in Savannah, Georgia
to a resident New England family.
Hale was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy
. He graduated at Harvard University
in 1870, and took a post-graduate course in philosophy
there in 1874-1876; studied classical philology
at Leipzig
and Göttingen in 1876-1877; was tutor in Latin
at Harvard from 1877 to 1880, and succeeding Tracy Peck as professor of Latin in Cornell University
from 1880 to 1892, when he became professor of Latin and head of the Latin department of the University of Chicago
. From 1894 to 1899 he was chairman and in 1895-1896 first director of the American School of Classical Studies at Rome
. Hale held honorary degrees from Princeton, St. Andrew's and Aberdeen Universities.
He is best known as an original teacher on questions of syntax
. In The cum-constructions: their history and functions, which appeared in Cornell University studies in classical philology (1888–1889; and in German
version by Neizert in 1891), he attacked Hoffmann's distinction between absolute and relative temporal clauses as published in Lateinische Zeitpartikeln (1874); Hoffmann replied in 1891, and the best summary of the controversy is in Wetzel's Der Streit zwischen Hoffmann und Hale (1892). Hale wrote also The sequence of tenses in Latin (1887–1888), The anticipatory subjunctive in Greek
and Latin (1894), and a Latin grammar (1903), to which the parts on sounds, inflection
and word-formation were contributed by Carl Darling Buck
.
After founding the American School of Classical Studies, Rome, 1905–06, Professor Hale served as its director and later, chairman of the board. Returning to Chicago, Hale was Editor, The Classical Quarterly in 1914. He continued his teaching and retired from the university in 1920, spending the next eight years conducting research on the rare and missing text of Catullus
he discovered in Rome.
on the need to act against the German Empire. But like fellow progressive Alfred Hayes, Jr., William Gardner Hale viewed the American role as supporting the internationalist and multilateral position represented by the Hague Conventions. Roosevelt was defining the unilateralist tenet that would become a hallmark of 20th century Republican Party foreign policy doctrine. On in May 1916, Hale agreed to serve as an honorary vice president of the American Rights Committee during its Carnegie Hall memorial protest of the Lusitania sinking by a German Navy U-Boat. The purpose of the mass meeting was to organize a petition to President Woodrow Wilson
demanding an end of diplomatic relations with the Imperial Court at Berlin. New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel
succeeded in postponing the protest, in part to ameliorate worsening relations in the city between the pro-Allied and pro-German factions. In the 1916 Presidential election, William Gardner Hale endorsed Woodrow Wilson
over Charles Evans Hughes
. Hale's position was based on his concern that Hughes would draw the United States into another war with the Republic of Mexico and that Wilson, while not supportive enough of the Allies in Europe, "had the high aim of building up a national life in which, while honest business shall have every opportunity, privilege shall not rule the poor and the weak. He has made of his party a truly progressive party." Hale was a member of the New England Anti-Imperialist League.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classical scholar, was born in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
to a resident New England family.
Hale was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
. He graduated at 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...
in 1870, and took a post-graduate course in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
there in 1874-1876; studied classical 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...
at Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and Göttingen in 1876-1877; was tutor in 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...
at Harvard from 1877 to 1880, and succeeding Tracy Peck as professor of Latin in Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1880 to 1892, when he became professor of Latin and head of the Latin department of 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...
. From 1894 to 1899 he was chairman and in 1895-1896 first director of the American School of Classical Studies at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Hale held honorary degrees from Princeton, St. Andrew's and Aberdeen Universities.
He is best known as an original teacher on questions of syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
. In The cum-constructions: their history and functions, which appeared in Cornell University studies in classical philology (1888–1889; and in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version by Neizert in 1891), he attacked Hoffmann's distinction between absolute and relative temporal clauses as published in Lateinische Zeitpartikeln (1874); Hoffmann replied in 1891, and the best summary of the controversy is in Wetzel's Der Streit zwischen Hoffmann und Hale (1892). Hale wrote also The sequence of tenses in Latin (1887–1888), The anticipatory subjunctive in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Latin (1894), and a Latin grammar (1903), to which the parts on sounds, inflection
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
and word-formation were contributed by Carl Darling Buck
Carl Darling Buck
Carl Darling Buck , born in Bucksport, Maine, was an American philologist.-Biography:He graduated from Yale in 1886, was a graduate student there for three years, and studied at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and in Leipzig .In 1892 he became professor of Sanskrit and...
.
After founding the American School of Classical Studies, Rome, 1905–06, Professor Hale served as its director and later, chairman of the board. Returning to Chicago, Hale was Editor, The Classical Quarterly in 1914. He continued his teaching and retired from the university in 1920, spending the next eight years conducting research on the rare and missing text of Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
he discovered in Rome.
Family
William Gardner Hale was son to William and Elizabeth Jewett Scott of Peterboro, N.H. Professor Hale was spouse to Harriet Swinburne (1853–1928) of Newport, Rhode Island. Harriet Swinburne Hale graduated with the class of 1873, Vassar College. Their four children were: Gardner Hale (b. Ithaca, 1900; d. Santa Monica, Calif. 1932) of New York, who died four years after his father's death in an automobile accident at Santa Monica, California. Gardner Hale was a fresco painter and interior decorator. Also a Harvard graduate, Gardner was the first director, American Academy in Rome. Another son, Swinburne Hale was an attorney at Westport, Connecticut; a daughter, Mrs. Vancil Foster, resided at Taos, New Mexico and another daughter, Miss Virginia Hall, resided in New York City.Multilateralist
When the German Empire invade Belgium in 1914, Professor Hale was abroad in Europe. He cabled the New York Times from Havre, France, and permitted his name to be published with his cable recommending the United States declare war on Germany. Six months into the First World War, the Wilson Administration had succeeded in keeping the United States neutral. Professor Hale called for war in September 1914; in January 1915 he was in partial agreement with former President Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
on the need to act against the German Empire. But like fellow progressive Alfred Hayes, Jr., William Gardner Hale viewed the American role as supporting the internationalist and multilateral position represented by the Hague Conventions. Roosevelt was defining the unilateralist tenet that would become a hallmark of 20th century Republican Party foreign policy doctrine. On in May 1916, Hale agreed to serve as an honorary vice president of the American Rights Committee during its Carnegie Hall memorial protest of the Lusitania sinking by a German Navy U-Boat. The purpose of the mass meeting was to organize a petition to President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
demanding an end of diplomatic relations with the Imperial Court at Berlin. New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917. At age 34 he was the second-youngest ever; he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mayor Mitchel is remembered for his short career as leader of Reform politics in New York, as well as for his early death as an...
succeeded in postponing the protest, in part to ameliorate worsening relations in the city between the pro-Allied and pro-German factions. In the 1916 Presidential election, William Gardner Hale endorsed Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
over Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
. Hale's position was based on his concern that Hughes would draw the United States into another war with the Republic of Mexico and that Wilson, while not supportive enough of the Allies in Europe, "had the high aim of building up a national life in which, while honest business shall have every opportunity, privilege shall not rule the poor and the weak. He has made of his party a truly progressive party." Hale was a member of the New England Anti-Imperialist League.
Member
Phi Beta Kappa Society; German Archaeological Institute of Berlin, Athens and Rome; American Philological Association (President 1892-93).Sample Publications
- William Gardner Hale, Latin Composition (1912).
- William Gardner Hale, A Latin Grammar (1903).
- William Gardner Hale, The Art of Reading Latin: How to Teach It (1902).
- William Gardner Hale, The Cum-Constructions: Their History and Functions (No. 1, Cornell Studies in Classical Philology)(Hale & Wheeler, eds.) (1889).