Andrew Fleming West (May 17, 1853 – December 27, 1943) was an American

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, and first dean of the

Graduate School Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Biography

West was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania on May 17, 1853. He studied at Princeton University from 1870 to 1874. In his final year at Princeton he founded the Princeton Glee Club. After graduating, he taught

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

at a high school in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

for six years. He then went to Europe to carry out academic study, before taking up a position as principal of the Morris Academy in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1883 West accepted a position as professor of Latin at Princeton University, where he served as Giger Professor of Latin for forty-five years until his retirement in 1928. In December 1900 West was appointed as the first dean of the newly founded

at Princeton University. As dean, he was instrumental in creating the Princeton University Graduate College, a residential college for graduate students. After a number of setbacks, and a disagreement with

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

(President of Princeton University, 1902–1910) about the siting of the proposed graduate college, it finally became a reality with the death of Isaac C. Wyman in 1910, who bequeathed $800,000 for the purposes of founding a graduate college. The graduate college was dedicated on October 22, 1913. He remained dean until 1928. West was president of the American Philological Association in 1902. He received the honorary degree

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.) from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in October 1902, in connection with the tercentenary of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. A cast bronze statue of West made by R. Tait McKenzie in 1928 is situated in the grounds of the Graduate College at Princeton University.

Works

* 1892. ''Alcuin and the Rise of the Christian schools''. New York: Charles Scribner's sons. * 1902. ''A Latin Grammar for Schools''. New York: D. Appleton and Co. * 1913. ''The Graduate College of Princeton''. Princeton University Press. * 1929. ''A Narrative of the Graduate College of Princeton University : from its proposal in 1896 until its dedication in 1913''. Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University.

References

External links

*
Biography of Andrew Fleming West
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Andrew Fleming 1853 births 1943 deaths American classical scholars Classical scholars of Princeton University Scholars of Latin literature Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty