Andrew Frederic Wallace-Hadrill, (born 29 July 1951) is a British

ancient historian Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term "historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific to ...

, classical archaeologist, and academic. He is Professor of Roman Studies and Director of Research in the

Faculty of Classics Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He was Director of the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

between 1995 and 2009, and

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

from August 2009 to July 2013.

Early life and education

Wallace-Hadrill was born on 29 July 1951 in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England, the son of mediaeval historian

John Michael Wallace-Hadrill John Michael Wallace-Hadrill (29 September 1916 – 3 November 1985) was a British academic and one of the foremost historians of the early Merovingian period. He held the Chichele Chair in Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1 ...

and Anne Wallace-Hadrill (née Wakefield). He was educated at the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

. He studied '' Literae humaniores'' (ie

classics 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 ...

) at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree: as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Oxon) degree. He went on to attain a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree at St John's College, University of Oxford. His

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled "Suetonius on the emperor: studies in the representation of the emperor in the Caesars" and was submitted in 1980.

Academic career

Wallace-Hadrill's first academic position was

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

between 1976 and 1983. He was also the Director of Studies in

Classics 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 ...

of the College during that time. He then lectured at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

from 1983 till 1987. In 1987, he became Professor of Classics at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

until 2009. Wallace-Hadrill was Director of the

between 1995 and 2009. He was elected the 25th Master of

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

at the

, taking up office in August 2009 on the expiry by statute of Professor

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Sandra Dawson's tenure. In June 2012, it was announced that he would be standing down from the position of Master to concentrate his efforts on the Herculaneum Conservation Project. He stood down in 2013, and continued at Cambridge as Director of Research of the Faculty of Classics from 1 October 2012. He now has the status of Emeritus Professor. In 2004, in an interview on the Australian television programme ''60 Minutes'', Wallace-Hadrill aired his opinion about the neglect of the archaeological site of Pompeii. He was described as an "angry

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

" when he argued that the conservation issues that need to be acted upon urgently at Pompeii are being neglected and that the site is suffering from a "second death". Regarding the deterioration of Pompeii, he contends, "Man is wreaking a damage far greater than

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

. The moment of Pompeii's destruction was also the moment of its preservation. The public needs to understand that unless constant efforts are taken to arrest the decay, the site will, within decades crumble to nothing."

Television

Wallace-Hadrill has made three well-reviewed documentary programmes for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television. ''The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum'', first screened in April 2013, was described by ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' as "a straightforward, lively but informative documentary of substance" on

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

, a Roman city that was destroyed by the

eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius, a stratovolcano located in the modern-day region of Campania, erupted, causing one of the deadliest eruptions in history. Vesuvius violently ejected a cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of , ejecting ...

AD. The two-parter, ''Building the Ancient City: Athens and Rome'', was screened in August 2015, and showed how the building of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

paralleled the development of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in those two cultures. Daisy Wyatt of ''The Independent'' said of it: "An exuberant Wallace-Hadrill made the...documentary watchable thanks to his passion for the subject. It was hard to feel anything but warmth for the antithesis of the typical Oxbridge academic presenter."

Honours and awards

*In 2014, Wallace-Hadrill was awarded an Honorary

D.Litt. 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 ...

degree by the

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

( FBA) in 2010. * In the New Year Honours 2004 Wallace-Hadrill was appointed as

Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

''For services to UK-Italian cultural relations''. *

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a registered charity. It is based at Burlington House in Pi ...

( FSA) on 30 April 1998. *

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

's James R. Wiseman Award in 1995 for his book: ''Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum'' (1994).

Selected works

* ''Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars'' (Duckworth, 1983). * ''City and Country in the Ancient World'' (New York, 1991), ed. with John Rich * ''Augustan Rome'' (1993) * ''Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum'' (Princeton, 1994). * ''Suetonius'' (Duckworth, 1995). * ''Domestic Space in the Roman World: Pompeii and Beyond'' (1997), ed. with

Ray Laurence Ray Laurence is professor of ancient history at Macquarie University. He has won the Routledge Ancient History Prize for his first book ''Roman Pompeii: Space and Society'', and the Longman-History Today New Generation Prize for his book ''Pomp ...

* ''Rome's Cultural Revolution'' (Cambridge, 2008) * ''Herculaneum: Past and Future'' (Frances Lincoln, 2011).

References

External links

''Debrett's People of Today''

"Herculaneum Uncovered – A conversation with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill"
, ''Ideas Roadshow'', 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew 1951 births Living people People educated at Rugby School English classical scholars Historians of ancient Rome Academics of the University of Reading Officers of the Order of the British Empire Masters of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics