Jakob Aall Ottesen Larsen (March 1, 1888 – September 2, 1974) was an American

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. He was known principally for his research on the political status of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

Biography

Jakob Aall Ottesen Larsen was born in

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

. He was the son of Peter Laurentius Larsen, founding president of Luther College, and his second wife Ingeborg Astrup (1846–1923) He received a BA from Luther College in 1908 and MA 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 1911. In 1914, he earned a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

. He studied at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

from 1914 to 1920. In 1928, Larsen received his Ph.D. from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. The

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

awarded him the LL.D. in 1953, and Luther College presented him with his D.Litt. in 1961. Larsen worked as an assistant professor of history at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

from 1921 to 1926. From 1926 through 1929, he served in the same capacity at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He was promoted to associate professor and continued in that capacity at Ohio State University until 1930. In 1930–1943 he served as an associate professor of history at the

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 ...

, then as a professor (1943–1953, and as a professor emeritus from 1953 to 1971. Larsen was the managing editor of ''Classical Philology'' from 1939 to 1951. From 1951 to 1952 he was chairman of the

American Philological Association The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA), is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the pree ...

. He served as the

Sather Professor of Classical Literature The Jane K. Sather Professorship of Classical Literature is an endowed chair for the study of classics at the University of California, Berkeley. Established in 1914 after a donation by Jane K. Sather, widow of the Norwegian-American banker Ped ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

-Berkeley in 1954 and as visiting professor of history at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in 1956 and 1957. He was also visiting professor of history at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1960 and 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 ...

from 1960 to 1971.

Personal life

He was married to Clarice (Grindeland) Larsen (1886–1974). He died during 1974 in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. Both he and his wife were buried in the Lutheran Cemetery

Winneshiek County, Iowa Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,070. The county seat is Decorah. History A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history fr ...

Works

* ''Representative Government in Greek and Roman History'', 1955 (

's C.J. Goodwin Award of Merit, 1957) * ''Greek Federal States: Their Institutions and History'', 1968

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Jakob A.O. 1888 births 1974 deaths Luther College (Iowa) alumni Yale University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Harvard University alumni University of Vermont alumni University of Washington faculty Ohio State University faculty University of Chicago faculty Classical scholars of the University of California, Berkeley American classical scholars American people of Norwegian descent University of Missouri faculty People from Decorah, Iowa Historians of antiquity American Rhodes Scholars Corresponding fellows of the British Academy

Biography

Personal life

Works

Further reading

References

External links