Ernest George Hardy (15 January 1852 – 26 October 1925) was a classicist and Principal of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, from 1921 to 1925.

Biography

Hardy was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, England and was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

. He then went to

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 ...

, from 1871 to 1875, where he was a scholar and achieved a double-first in Literae Humaniores. He was elected a Fellow of Jesus College in 1875. He resigned in 1878 (after his marriage). He taught at

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

for two years and was headmaster of

The King's School, Grantham The King's School is an 11–18 boys grammar school with Academy (English school), academy status, in the market town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The school's history can be traced to 1329, and was re-endowed by Richard Foxe in 1528. Lo ...

(1879–87), where he met

Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...

, then an undermaster at the school. He resigned following a struggle with the governors, and moved back to Oxford where he carried out private research. He taught classics at Jesus College from 1894 (after David Ritchie was appointed to a professorship at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

) and he was re-elected to a Fellowship at Jesus College in 1896. He became Vice-Principal in 1897 and wrote a history of the college in 1899. He remained a long-term friend of Frederick Rolfe, and in 1904 wrote a letter commending Rolfe which is reprinted in Symons' biographical study of Rolfe. After

Sir John Rhys ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

died in 1915, the Principalship was vacant until 1921, when Hardy was elected. He died suddenly in 1925, three weeks after presiding at the first College

Gaudy Gaudy or gaudie (from the Latin, "gaudium", meaning "enjoyment" or "merry-making") is a term used to reflect student life in a number of the ancient universities in the United Kingdom as well as other institutions such as Durham University and ...

since 1914.Baker, Jesus College, pp. 126–127.

Works

* ''Christianity and the Roman Government: a Study in Imperial Administration'' (London: Longman, Greens & Co., 1894) * ''Jesus College'' (London: F. E. Robinson, 1899) * ''Studies in Roman History'' (London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1906) * ''Six Roman Laws'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911) * ''Roman Laws and Charters'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912) * ''Some Problems in Roman History: Ten Essays Bearing on the Administrative and Legislative Work of Julius Caesar'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924) * ''The Catilinarian Conspiracy in its Context: a Re-study of the Evidence'' (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1924)

References

1852 births 1925 deaths People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford English classical scholars Principals of Jesus College, Oxford {{UK-academic-stub