Edward Fairchild Watling (8 October 1899 – 6 September 1990) was an English schoolmaster, classicist and translator. He produced translations for

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the West ...

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

three Theban plays Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three classical Greece, ancient Greek tragedy, tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays wer ...

, nine plays of

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

and a selection of

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

's tragedies. The son of a Denbighshire dairy farmer, Watling was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 155 ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. He took a Second in Classical Moderations in 1920 and a Third in Literae Humaniores ('"Greats") in 1922.''Oxford University Calendar 1925'', Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1925 : 234, 273 Watling taught Classics at King Edward VII School in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

from 1924 until his retirement in 1960. He contributed to amateur dramatics in

, both as an actor and as a producer, initially for the Sheffield Playgoers and later in

Geoffrey Ost Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

's productions at the Sheffield Playhouse. He also wrote sketches for the West End revues of

André Charlot André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films. Early l ...

, and was a regular reviewer of both books and stage productions for the ''

Sheffield Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded i ...

''. As "Marcus" he compiled crosswords for '' The Listener'' until he was in his seventies. In 1928 Watling married Cicely Porter (died 1982; one daughter). He died on 6 September 1990.

References

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

, Obituaries, 21 September 1990
Material on Old Edwardians site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watling, Edward Fairchild English classical scholars People educated at Christ's Hospital Alumni of University College, Oxford 1899 births 1990 deaths People from Denbighshire Schoolteachers from Yorkshire