Ernst Badian (8 August 1925 – 1 February 2011) was an Austrian-born

classical scholar 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 ...

who served as a

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 ...

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 high ...

from 1971 to 1998.

Early life and education

Badian was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1925 and in 1938 fled the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

with his family to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. There he attended the University of Canterbury,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

(then Canterbury College), where he met his future wife Nathlie Ann Wimsett. He received a BA in 1945 and an MA the following year. After a year teaching at the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

, Badian went to

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he studied under

George Cawkwell George Law Cawkwell (25 October 1919 – 18 February 2019) was a classical scholar who specialised in the ancient history of Greece in the 4th century BC. Life and career Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Cawkwell was educated at King's College, ...

, gained a first class BA in Litt Hum in 1950, an MA in 1954 and a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1956. In addition, he gained the degree of LittD from New Zealand's

in 1962.

Academic career

After teaching in the universities of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

in England and at the State University of New York, Buffalo, he was appointed to Harvard's Department of History in 1971 and was cross-appointed to the Department of the Classics in 1973. He became John Moors Cabot Professor of History Emeritus in 1998. An active promoter of classical studies in the United States, Badian helped found '' The American Journal of Ancient History'' (1976), the

Association of Ancient Historians The Association of Ancient Historians (AAH) is the oldest and largest academic organization in the US for scholars of the history of the Ancient Mediterranean World. HISTORY The Association of Ancient Historians had its origins in 1969, when a num ...

(1974), and the New England Ancient History Colloquium.

Honours

Badian was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1974. In 1999 Austria awarded him the Cross of Honor for Science and Art (''Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst''). The same year, the University of Canterbury awarded him an honorary degree.

Personal life and death

Badian died at the age of 85 after a fall in his home in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was survived by his widow Nathlie, his children Hugh and Rosemary, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Legacy

The Ernst Badian Collection of Roman Republican Coins is housed by the Special Collections and University Archives of the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

libraries. At the 2012 meeting of the Association of Ancient Historians in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, ancient historians

T. Corey Brennan Terry Corey Brennan (born November 24, 1959) is a Professor of Classics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick ( USA). Under the stage name Corey "Loog" Brennan he was a guitarist and songwriter involved with several bands, including Boston-based b ...

and

Jerzy Linderski Jerzy Sever Linderski (born 21 August 1934 in Lwow, Poland, now Lviv) is a contemporary Polish scholar of ancient history and Roman religion and law. Currently George L. Paddison Professor of Latin ''Emeritus'' at the University of North Carolin ...

delivered papers reflecting on the historical methodologies employed by Badian.

Works

* ''Foreign Clientelae 264–70 B.C.'' (

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Oxford, 1958), based on his 1956 dissertation * ''Studies in Greek and Roman History'' (Blackwell, Oxford, 1964) *"The Early Historians", in Thomas Allen Dorey (editor), ''Latin Historians'' (Basic Books, New York, 1966) pp. 1–38. * ''Roman Imperialism in the Late Republic'', 2nd ed. (1st commercial ed.) (Blackwell, Oxford/

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...

, 1968) * ''Publicans and Sinners'' (Blackwell, Oxford/Cornell University Press, 1972, reprinted, with corrections and critical bibliography, Cornell University Press, 1983) * ''From Plataea to

Potidaea __NOTOC__ Potidaea (; grc, Ποτίδαια, ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at ...

'' ( Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993) * ''Zöllner und Sünder'' (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1997) Editor for: * ''Ancient Society and Institutions. Studies Presented to Victor Ehrenberg'' (Blackwell, Oxford, 1966) * ''Polybius. Selected passages in translation'' (Washington Square Press, NY, 1966) * ''Sir Ronald Syme, Roman Papers'' (vols. 1 & 2) (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1979) * ''Translated Documents of Greek and Rome'', vols. 1, 2, 3, edited jointly with Robert K. Sherk (Johns Hopkins University Press, then

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

)

References

External links

*
Harvard page on Badian

"Ernst Badian, professor of history emeritus, 85" ''Harvard Gazette February 14, 2011

"Ernst Badian, 85, noted scholar on ancient Rome" ''Boston Globe'' May 23, 2011

"d.m. Ernst Badian" FEBRUARY 4, 2011 / DAVID MEADOWS ~ ROGUECLASSICIST
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Badian, Ernst 1925 births 2011 deaths University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of University College, Oxford Austrian emigrants to New Zealand Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences State University of New York faculty Prosopographers of ancient Rome Classical scholars of the University of Durham Classical scholars of the University of Leeds Classical scholars of the State University of New York Classical scholars of Harvard University Latin epigraphers Scholars of Roman history Scholars of ancient Greek history Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of Durham University Academics of the University of Leeds