Bernard MacGregor Walker Knox (November 24, 1914 – July 22, 2010Wolfgang Saxon

''The New York Times'', August 16, 2010.) was an English

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 ...

, author, and critic who became an American citizen. He was the first director of the Center for Hellenic Studies.History of the Center for Hellenic Studies
at CHS website (retrieved May 26, 2009).Bernard Knox author listing
at ''

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

'' website (retrieved May 25, 2009). In 1992 the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

selected Knox for the

Jefferson Lecture The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished ...

, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

Biography

Knox was born in 1914 in the City of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Yorkshire, England. He was educated at Battersea Grammar School, and received his B.A. in classics from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. In 1936, he joined and was wounded in combat with the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, which he joined alongside

John Cornford Rupert John Cornford (27 December 1915 – 28 December 1936) was an English poet and communist. During the first year of the Spanish Civil War, he was a member of the POUM militia and later the International Brigades. He died while fighting aga ...

Tom Wintringham Thomas Henry Wintringham (15 May 1898 – 16 August 1949) was a British soldier, military historian, journalist, poet, Marxist, politician and author. He was a supporter of the Home Guard during the Second World War and was one of the founders ...

, John Sommerfield and Jan Kurzke. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Hugh Lloyd-Jones
"''The Oldest Dead White European Males''-book reviews"
''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', June 7, 1993. In 1939 he married an American, Betty Baur, a novelist who wrote under the pen name Bianca van Orden; G.W. Bowersock
"The Warrior-Humanist: Bernard M.W. Knox (1914–2010).
''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', September 4, 2010. she died in 2006. His son, Macgregor Knox, is a prominent historian of 20th century Europe. Bored with his first Army assignment with an anti-aircraft battery in England, Knox volunteered for work with the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

as he spoke French and some German. The OSS assigned him to the

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

program, and he parachuted into

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

on July 7, 1944 with team GILES. His team evaded German capture while working with the area resistance, arranging clandestine air parachute drops of weapons, and, when the regulars arrived, did liaison work between the US forces and the

French resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

in order to sweep the German Army out of Brittany. In the spring of 1945, he deployed to Italy with an OSS team to work with the Italian Partisans scouting for Allied forces. It was here, during a firefight, where he was pinned down in a monastery filled with books that he resolved to take up his studies in the classics should he survive the war.Benjamin F. Jones
"Looking for Bernard Knox: Warrior, Ancient and Modern"
in ''War, Literature & the Arts'' 15:323 (2003). He did so and received an M.A. from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, and a PhD from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

.1976-77: Bernard Knox biography at Previous Winners of the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

website. In the army, he achieved the rank of captain. Knox taught at Yale until 1961, when he was appointed the first director of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. After fulfilling a previous commitment to spend a year as Sather Lecturer at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, Knox served as director of the Center from 1962 until his retirement in 1985. He continued to write prolifically. Knox is known for his efforts to make classics more accessible to the public."5 Arts Awards Announced"
''The New York Times'', September 2, 1990. In 1959 his translations of ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...

'' were used to produce a series of television films for

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

and the Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, featuring the cast of the Canadian

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a Repertory theatre, repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, th ...

. He taught the poet Robert Fagles at Yale, and became Fagles's lifelong friend and the author of the introductions and notes for Fagles's translations of

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

's three Theban plays,

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' and ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''. Reviewing the Fagles ''Iliad'' in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', classicist

Oliver Taplin Oliver Taplin, FBA (born 2 August 1943) is a retired British academic and classicist. He was a fellow of Magdalen College and Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Oxford. He holds a DPhil from Oxford University. ...

described Knox's 60-page introduction as "His Master's Voice, taking the best of contemporary scholarship and giving it special point and vividness, as only Mr. Knox can." His combat experiences in World War II subtly inform these introductions. Knox was the editor of ''The Norton Book of Classical Literature'' Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
"Books of The Times; Putting In a Word for Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Etc."
''The New York Times'', April 29, 1993. and also wrote extensively for ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''. Knox received the 1977

George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence and while co-founding ...

Award for Dramatic Criticism for one of his ''New York Review'' pieces, a review of Andrei Şerban's controversial

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

production of ''

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

''; the award committee described Knox's work as "a brilliant review of a major theatrical event" in which Knox "recognized that the director was attempting to solve the central problem of this play by finding a new way to express long passages of lyric language that have lost their immediacy for modern audiences." In 1990 he received the first PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for his book ''Essays Ancient and Modern''. Knox is also known for his role in the controversy over similarities between

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry ...

's ''World Within World'' and David Leavitt's ''While England Sleeps'': it was Knox, reviewing Leavitt's book for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', who first pointed out its similarities to Spender's older memoir (which Knox had reviewed in 1951). This ultimately led to Spender suing Leavitt and forcing the withdrawal and revision of Leavitt's book. The

awarded Knox the

Charles Frankel Prize The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the humani ...

in 1990,Charles Frankel Prize
at NEH website (retrieved May 25, 2009). and in 1992 it selected Knox for the

, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the

.Jefferson Lecturers
at NEH Website (retrieved May 25, 2009). Knox's lecture, which he gave the intentionally "provocative" title "The Oldest Dead White European Males", became the basis for Knox's book of the same name, in which Knox defended the continuing relevance of classical Greek culture to modern society. He died of heart failure on July 22, 2010. He was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards and honors

*1945: Two

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

*1956:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

*1977: George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, "for his review of Andrei Serban’s production of Agamemnon at

, published in the

" *1977: Elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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, and other ...

*1985: Elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

*1990:

, from the

*1990: PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, for ''Essays Ancient and Modern'' *1992: Selected for the

by the National Endowment for the Humanities *2004: The Thomas Jefferson Medal, awarded by the

Publications

Books: *Bernard Knox,

Cleanth Brooks Cleanth Brooks ( ; October 16, 1906 – May 10, 1994) was an American literary critic and professor. He is best known for his contributions to New Criticism in the mid-20th century and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher ...

, Maynard Mack, ''Tragic Themes in Western Literature: Seven Essays by Bernard Knox and Others'' (Yale University Press, 1955), . *Bernard Knox, ''Oedipus at Thebes'' (Yale University Press, 1957), reissued as ''Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles' Tragic Hero and His Time'' (Yale University Press, 1998), . *Bernard Knox, ''The heroic temper: studies in Sophoclean tragedy'' (University of California Press, 1964), . *Bernard Knox, ''Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Theater'' (1979) (reprint, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), *Bernard Knox, ''Essays Ancient and Modern'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989), . *Bernard Knox, editor, ''The Norton Book of Classical Literature'' (Norton, 1993), . *Bernard Knox, ''The Oldest Dead White European Males and Other Reflections on the Classics'' (1993) (reprint, W. W. Norton & Company, 1994), . *Bernard Knox, ''Backing Into the Future: The Classical Tradition and Its Renewal'' (W.W. Norton, 1994), . Articles and Book Chapters:
''The Continuity of Greek Culture'', Perspectives on Culture and Society, Volume 1 (1988), pages 149-164
*''Premature Anti-Fascist'', The Antioch Review, Volume 57, Number 2, Essays, Personal & Political, Spring 1999, pp. 133–149.

Selected introductions

*Sophocles, tr. Robert Fagles, notes by Bernard Knox, ''The three Theban plays'' (Viking Press, 1982), . *Homer, tr. Robert Fagles, intro. Bernard Knox, ''The Iliad'' (Penguin Classics, 1991), . *Homer, tr. Robert Fagles, intro. Bernard Knox, ''The Odyssey'' (Penguin Classics, 1997), . *Virgil, tr. Robert Fagles, intro. Bernard Knox, ''The Aeneid'' (Viking, 2006), . *Moses I. Finley, intro. Bernard Knox, ''The World of Odysseus'' (New York Review of Books, 2002), .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Bernard 1914 births 2010 deaths English classical scholars Writers from Bradford Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Yale University alumni Classical scholars of Harvard University British people of the Spanish Civil War English emigrants to the United States National Humanities Medal recipients International Brigades personnel United States Army officers Classical scholars of Yale University Scholars of ancient Greek literature PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award winners Homeric scholars Harvard University alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society