Frank William Walbank, (; 10 December 1909 – 23 October 2008) was a scholar of ancient history, particularly the history of

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

. He was born in Bingley,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Early life and education

Born at Bingley,

, son of schoolmaster Albert Joseph David Walbank (1879–1967) and Clarice (1880–1965), née Fletcher, Walbank attended Bradford Grammar School and went on to study Classics at Peterhouse,

. His father was the son of a cobbler, but had left the family business on winning a scholarship and became a teacher.

Career

From 1951 to 1977, Walbank was Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

. After retirement he was a professor emeritus at Liverpool and an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse. Walbank held visiting positions at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

in Princeton. Walbank's published works include '' Aratos of Sicyon'' (1933), ''Philip V of Macedon'' (1940), ''The Awful Revolution'' (1946; 1969), ''Polybius'' (1972; 1990), ''A Historical Commentary on Polybius'', 3 vols. (1957, 1967, 1979), ''The Hellenistic World'' (1981) and, with N.G.L. Hammond, ''A History of Macedonia, Vol. III: 336–167 BC''. He also served as the joint editor of volumes 7 and 8 of the ''Cambridge Ancient History''. In 1933, Walbank's essay " Aratos of Sicyon" won the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Thirlwall Prize. He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1981.

References

Additional sources

* Momigliano, Arnaldo. "F.W. Walbank", ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 74. (1984).

External links

Obituary
by Peter Garnsey at the independent.co.uk (23 October 2008).
Obituary
by Robin Seager at the guardian.co.uk (19 November 2008).
Polybius Man
by Mary Beard at The Times Literary Supplement (29 May 2013). {{DEFAULTSORT:Walbank, F.W. 1909 births 2008 deaths English classical scholars Historians of antiquity Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Academics of the University of Liverpool Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Bingley Scholars of ancient Greek history 20th-century English historians 21st-century English historians Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Presidents of The Roman Society Presidents of the Classical Association Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Bradford Grammar School