Richard Broxton Onians
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Richard Broxton Onians (1899 - 1986) was a
classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and Hildred Carlile Professor of Latin in the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
.''Available online to subscribers, or in print'' His major publication was ''The Origins of European Thought: About the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time and Fate'' (Cambridge UP, 1951).


Early life

Onians was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on 11 January 1899; his father was Richard Henry Onians. He served in the 4th South Lancs and the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in 1917–1918, and then gained a first class degree in classics at
Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
. In 1922 he became a research student at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, where his thesis won the Hare Prize.


Academic career

Onians was a lecturer at the University of Liverpool in 1925–33, and professor of classics at the
University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...
in 1933–1935. In 1936 he became Hildred Carlile Professor of Latin at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
until his retirement in 1966, and was thereafter an emeritus professor.


''Origins of European Thought''

Onians' doctoral research explored concepts in
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and was awarded the Hare Prize in 1926, a condition being that the work should be published by 1929. He negotiated an extension to this time limit, and although a 1935 draft with the title ''Origins of Greek & Roman Thought, mainly concerning the body, the mind, the soul and fate'' is held by the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, his book, though circulating in manuscript, was not published until 1951, as ''The Origins of European Thought: About the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time and Fate'' (Cambridge University Press). It was reprinted, with corrections and a slightly expanded appendix, in 1954. In 1988 Cambridge University Press printed a paperback edition, which was reissued in 2011. (). His obituary in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' in 1986 said "Although the book, which covers a vast field, does not always carry conviction, it was one of the most important of its day in the field of classical studies and remains a valuable tool.", and commented that he had published little else although he had worked on additions to the book. Jules Brody wrote in 2014: "His prodigious learning and intellectual daring put Onians squarely in a class with Damaso Alonso, Ernst-Robert Curtius,
Mario Praz Mario Praz (; September 6, 1896, Rome – March 23, 1982, Rome) was an Italian-born critic of art and literature, and a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, ''The Romantic Agony'' (1933), was a comprehensive survey of the decadent ...
, and
Leo Spitzer Leo Spitzer (; 7 February 1887 – 16 September 1960) was an Austrian Romanist and Hispanist, philologist, and an influential and prolific literary critic. He was known for his emphasis on stylistics. Along with Erich Auerbach, Spitzer is widely ...
. And yet his book has been virtually ignored by classicists, philosophers, and philologists, at least in the world of Anglo-Saxon scholarship."


Personal life

Onians married Rosalind Lathbury, who had been one of his students, on 27 December 1937. They had two sons: Dick Onians, sculptorDick Onians
website
and
John Onians John B Onians, FSA (born 1942) is Professor Emeritus of World Art at the University of East Anglia, Norwich and specialised in architecture, especially the architectural theory of the Italian Renaissance; painting, sculpture and architecture in ...
, polymath, and four daughters. He was a council member of the
Association of University Teachers The Association of University Teachers (AUT) was the trade union and professional association that represented academic (teaching and research) and academic-related (librarians, IT professionals and senior administrators) staff at pre-1992 ...
in 1946-53 and a member of its executive committee in 1946–51. He died on 21 May 1986.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onians, Richard Broxton 1899 births 1986 deaths British classical scholars Classical scholars of the University of London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Liverpool Alumni of the University of Wales