Eva Johnston (14 May 1865 – 30 November 1941) was an American

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

and classical scholar. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate from the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

and was second woman professor at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Biography

Johnston attended school in

Ashland, Missouri Ashland is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. Ashland is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,747 at the 2020 census. History Ashland was founded in 1853. It was named for the Ashla ...

before further educated at

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

in Columbia and then at the University of Missouri from 1892. She worked as a Latin tutor at the university before spending time as a teaching fellow. She was the chair of Latin at

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. From 1899 Johnston studied under Richard Heinze at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. From 1901-1904 she returned to the University of Missouri as the assistant professor of Latin. She again left Missouri, in 1904, to return to her graduate studies under Heinze. He was, by this time, at the University of Königsberg. Her research focussed on Latin comedy. In 1905 Johnston was the first woman to earn a doctorate from that institution. Her thesis was titled ''"De sermone terentiano quaestiones duae"''. Johnston again returned to Missouri to teach Latin. She became the advisor to women from 1912-1921, latterly the Dean of Women from 1922. Johnstone became full professor of Latin in 1931, retiring two year later. She was named as a professor emeritus of Latin in 1938. Johnston died on 30 November 1941. An archive of her correspondence is held at the

State Historical Society of Missouri The State Historical Society of Missouri, a private membership and state funded organization, is a comprehensive research facility located in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in the preservation and study of Missouri's cultural heritage. Estab ...

. A hall of residence at the University of Missouri, Johnston Hall, is named after her.

Publications

*Johnston, Eva. 1905. "Gemination in Terence", ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 36.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Eva 1865 births 1941 deaths Women classical scholars American philologists Women philologists Stephens College alumni Scholars of Latin literature University of Königsberg alumni University of Missouri faculty University of Missouri alumni People from Boone County, Missouri