Edward Capps Sr. (December 21, 1866 – August 21, 1950) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, professor of

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

, and

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Biography

Capps was born in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on December 21, 1866. He would go on to graduate from

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

in 1887 and later receive a

PhD 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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 ...

in 1891. In July of the following year, he would get married. In 1890 Capps was appointed tutor at Yale. In 1892 he joined the faculty of the newly founded

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

as professor of Greek language and literature, remaining so until 1907. In 1903 he was special lecturer at Harvard, and during the next two years studied at Athens and Halle. During 1906–7 he was managing editor of Classical Philology, in 1907 was elected president of the

Classical Association of the Middle West and South The Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) is a professional organization for classicists and non-classicists at all levels of instruction which promotes the Classics through the broad scope of its annual meeting, through its pub ...

. Capps began teaching at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

in 1907, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1936. As a scholar he was noted for his productivity and received praises from individuals such as

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literatur ...

for his work on classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

. He also had a notable friendship with President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

, which helped him gain international prominence, aided even more so by his role as the editor of the first volumes of the

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

. Capps would also make a name for himself serving on the managing committee of the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA; ) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. It is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federat ...

(ASCSA) from 1908 to 1950, during which he acted as chair between 1919 and 1939. During his time as chair, ASCSA would purchase the

Gennadius Library The Gennadius Library (), also known as the Gennadeion, is one of the most important libraries in Greece, with over 110,000 volumes on Greek history, literature and art from Antiquity until modern times. The library is located at Souidias Street ...

and the

Athenian Agora The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is an ancient Greek agora. It is located to the northwest of the Acropolis of Athens, Acropolis, and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill k ...

. He would also personally chair the excavation project of the agora, negotiating the process on behalf of the school and attaining additional funds. These efforts saw the school's endowment increase significantly and earned Capps the nickname of the 'second founder' of the school. Capps also served as Envoy Extraordinary and

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to both

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

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on behalf of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1920 at the behest of his friend President Wilson. He was 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 ...

that same year. During the fallout of the Greco-Turkish War, Capps would make a name for himself as a

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

by aiding the

Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish W ...

. Using his position as the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Commissioner to Greece and his rank as a

, his efforts would see success and result in the Greek government awarding him both the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

and the Medal of Military Merit. Capps died on August 21, 1950, in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Legacy

In honor of his contributions to the school, the ASCSA built the Edward Capps

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overlooking the Athenian Agora from the Agoraios Kolonos and launched the Edward Capps Society to honor individuals who provide for the future of the school. Capps's

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

of Illinois College would also honor his legacy by establishing the 'Edward Capps Professorship of Humanities.' Capps's daughter Priscilla Capps Hill was director of Near East Industries in Athens, and longtime supporter of ASCSA. His son, Edward Capps Jr. taught art history at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

References

External links

List of books
published by Capps {{DEFAULTSORT:Capps, Edward 1866 births 1950 deaths People from Jacksonville, Illinois Academics from Illinois Illinois College alumni Yale University alumni Princeton University faculty American classical philologists American School of Classical Studies at Athens Ambassadors of the United States to Greece American Red Cross personnel Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the American Association of University Professors