John Anthony Crook FBA (5 November 1921 – 7 September 2007)Professor John Crook
by Peter Linehan in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 15 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2014. was Professor of Ancient History at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and an authority on the law and life of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

. He wrote several chapters for the

Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bury ...

and was an accomplished linguist.Professor John Crook
'' The Telegraph'', 19 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2014.

Early life

Crook was born in

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as ...

, south London and educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose o ...

. He received a

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scholarship to attend St. John's College, Cambridge in 1939 which he followed with postgraduate study at the

University of Oxford 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

Academic career

Crook was first appointed University Lecturer in Classics at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. He returned to St. John's in 1951 as a Fellow of the College and University Lecturer in Classics, rising to become Professor of Ancient History. He kept the same rooms at St John's for 55 years and at the College Classical Society, which met in his rooms for 50 years, he would attempt to get the society to sing in Latin. One favourite was "

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...

", in which the chorus began with the Latin word for

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: "ambiclitella! ambiclitella!". Having been appointed a Fellow in 1970, Crook resigned from the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1980, in protest at their failure to expel the British art historian and

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spy

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

. To mark his 80th birthday in 2001, he was presented with a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

'', ''Thinking Like a Lawyer'', edited by Paul McKechnie.

War service

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Crook was drafted into the 9th

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

in 1942. He served in the Middle East and North Africa before being captured during the allied landings in Italy in 1943. He was sent to Stalag Luft VIII-B at Lamsdorf in

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as a prisoner of war. At that camp he learned German, and taught languages to other prisoners. He practiced his clarinet, which was the same instrument his father, a military bandsman, had played. He also developed his acting in Shakespearean roles. He began his military service as a private, but ended as a sergeant in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Ge ...

John Crook Scholarship

The John Crook Scholarship is available to students studying for a second, two-year degree, at St John's College, Cambridge.John Crook Scholarships
St. John's College, Cambridge, 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.

Selected publications

*''Consilium Principis: Imperial Councils and Counsellors from Augustus to Diocletian''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

, Cambridge, 1955. *''Law and Life of Rome''.

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, London, 1967. *''Legal Advocacy in the Roman World''.

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, London, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, John People educated at Dulwich College 1921 births 2007 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Professors of Ancient History (Cambridge) Academics of the University of Reading People from Balham Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of the University of Oxford