Frederic Melvin Wheelock (September 19, 1902 – October 29, 1987) was an American Latin professor, best known for his authorship of ''

Wheelock's Latin ''Wheelock's Latin'' (originally titled ''Latin'' and later ''Latin: An Introductory Course Based on Ancient Authors'') is a comprehensive beginning Latin textbook. Chapters introduce related grammatical topics and assume little or no prior knowl ...

''.

Early life

He was the son of Franklin M. and Etta R. (née Goldthwaite) Wheelock. He graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1925 and later received both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from

Career

He taught at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) ...

, Harvard University, the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

Brooklyn College , mottoeng = Nothing without great effort , established = , parent = CUNY , type = Public university , endowment = $98.0 million (2019) , budget = $123.96 m ...

, Cazenovia Junior College (where he served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles ...

), the Darrow School for Boys, the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

(from which he retired in 1968, being a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

), and Florida Presbyterian College (where he served as

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

). Wheelock was a member of the

American Classical League Founded in 1919, the American Classical League (ACL) is a professional organization which promotes the study of classical civilization at all levels of education in the United States and Canada. Teachers of Latin, Ancient Greek and the Cla ...

American Philological Association The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preemine ...

and the Classical Association of the Atlantic States.

Personal life

On August 14, 1937, he married Dororthy Elizabeth Rathbone (1909–1990), daughter of James Colburn Rathbone (1881–1983) and Lillian Ford Reynolds (maiden; 1883 – ). His two children are Martha Ellen Wheelock and Deborah Wheelock Taylor, who continued his legacy as teachers. His grandchildren are Vanessa Taylor Sands and Ian Taylor. Ralph Wheelock (1600–1683) was Frederic's paternal 7th great-grandfather.

Books

Wheelock wrote a number of papers and reviews in the areas of textual criticism, paleography, and Latin studies. Some of his works include: *''

'' *''Wheelock's Latin Reader'', previously titled ''Latin Literature: A Book of Readings'' *Introduction and annotations of ''Quintilian as Educator'' (translated by H. E. Butler) Biographies of Wheelock written by Ward Briggs appear in the book ''A Biographical Dictionary of American Classicists'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994) and in ''The Classical Outlook'' (winter 2003 issue).

References

External links

Biography of Frederic Melvin Wheelock provided by Wheelockslatin.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheelock, Frederic 1902 births 1987 deaths Harvard University alumni Haverford College faculty Harvard University faculty City College of New York faculty Cazenovia College faculty University of Toledo faculty American textbook writers Brooklyn College faculty Eckerd College faculty American Latinists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Ralph Wheelock family American male non-fiction writers