Arthur Sampson Napier (1853–1916) was a British

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

. He was

Merton Professor of English Language and Literature There are two Merton Professorships of English in the University of Oxford: the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, and the Merton Professor of English Literature. The second was created in 1914 when Sir Walter Raleigh's chair was ...

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 ...

, from 1885 and also Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon since 1903. Napier was appointed a fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, in 1885 and of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in 1904. Born in

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is south of Manchester. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the parish had a population of 26,213 and the built up area had a p ...

on 30 August 1853, Napier studied at

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, and the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

. Napier was also an avid collector of the Oxford college stamp issues and gave talks and displays on this subject. He also wrote many articles for ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'' on the college stamp issues. He was Vice President of the Oxford Philatelic Society from 1892 onwards. Napier died on 10 May 1916.

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* * * * 1853 births 1916 deaths 19th-century philologists 20th-century British philologists Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester British philologists Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Linguists from the United Kingdom Merton Professors of English Language and Literature People from Wilmslow Rawlinsonian Professors of Anglo-Saxon University of Göttingen alumni Writers from Cheshire {{UK-linguist-stub