David Monro (scholar)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Binning Monro, FBA (16 November 183622 August 1905) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
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 ...
ic scholar, Provost of
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
, and Vice-Chancellor of
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.


Life

David Monro was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, the grandson of Alexander Monro ''tertius'', professor of
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, whose own father, Alexander Monro ''secondus'' (1733–1817), and grandfather, Alexander Monro ''primus'' (1697–1767), had both filled the same position. David Monro was educated at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, where he was influenced by
Edmund Law Lushington Edmund Law Lushington (10 January 1811 – 13 July 1893) was a classical scholar, a professor of Greek, and Rector of the University of Glasgow. Life Edmund Law Lushington was born on 10 January 1811 in Singleton, Lancashire, England. He was th ...
to become a classical scholar. In 1854, he attended
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
and, later in the same year transferred to
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...
, where he was a
Snell exhibitioner The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 167 ...
. In 1859, he was elected Fellow of
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
; although he entered
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
the following year, he became lecturer and then tutor at Oriel. In 1882, he became
Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
of the College, and he held this office until his death at Heiden,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. He also served as
Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
of 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 ...
from October 1901 to 1904.


Academic work

Monro was a
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
and
polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
who possessed considerable knowledge of
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
. His favourite study was Homer, and his ''A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect'' (2nd ed., 1891) established his reputation as an authority on the subject. He edited the last twelve books of the ''
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 ...
'', with valuable appendices on the composition of the poem, its relation to the ''
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 the cyclic poets, the history of the text, the dialects, and the Homeric house; a critical text of the poems and fragments (''Homeri opera et reliquiae'', 1896); ''Homeri opera'' (1902, with T. W. Allen, in the Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis); and an edition of the ''Iliad'' with notes for schools. Monro's article on Homer, written for the 9th edition of the ''
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, ...
'', was revised by him for later versions before he died. He also wrote ''The Modes of Ancient Greek Music'' (1894).


Death

On 22 August 1905, Monro died of heart disease in
Heiden, Switzerland Heiden is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. Its Biedermeier village around the church square is listed as a heritage site of national significance. History Heiden is first mentioned in 1461 ...
. He is buried in
Holywell Cemetery Holywell Cemetery lies behind St Cross Church, Oxford, St Cross Church in St Cross Road, Oxford, England, south of Holywell Manor on Manor Road, Oxford, Manor Road and north of Longwall Street, in the parish of Holywell, Oxford, Holywell. Histo ...
in Oxford.


Collections

Upon Monro's death in 1905, a number of his friends purchased, by subscription, over 1000 volumes from his library in his memory. These works were on Homeric studies and were mainly 19th century. They were presented to the
Bodleian Libraries The Bodleian Libraries are a collection of 28 libraries that serve the University of Oxford in England, including the Bodleian Library itself, as well as many other (but not all) central and faculty libraries. As of the 2021–2022 report year, ...
in Oxford. Monro himself had left
Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...
c.1000 volumes on comparative philology and mythology, most of which are now on permanent loan to the library of the
Taylor Institution The Taylor Institution (commonly known as the Taylorian) is the Oxford University library dedicated to the study of the languages of Europe. Its building also includes lecture rooms used by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Unive ...
in Oxford. He left his books on Greek Music and Mathematics, and editions of
William Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
and
Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...
, to friends.


Selected works


''A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect'' (2nd ed., 1891)''Homer: Iliad, Books I-XII, with an Introduction, a Brief Homeric Grammar, and Notes''(3rd ed., 1890)''Homer: Iliad, Books XIII-XXIV, with Notes'' (4th ed., 1903)''The Modes of Ancient Greek Music'' (1894)


References


Sources


John Cook Wilson, ''David Binning Monro: a short memoir'' (Oxford, 1907)


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, David Binning 1836 births 1905 deaths Academics from Edinburgh Scottish classical scholars Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Provosts of Oriel College, Oxford Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Burials at Holywell Cemetery