John H. Collins (November 14, 1902 – January 8, 1981) 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 ...

. Born in

Anaconda, Montana Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, Montana, Deer Lodge County, which has a consolidated city-county government, is located in southwestern Montana, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range (known locally as the "Pintle ...

, he attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and in 1952 received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in classical history from

Goethe University Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

where he studied under Professor

Matthias Gelzer Matthias Gelzer (19 December 1886, Liestal – 23 July 1974, Frankfurt am Main) was a Swiss-German classical historian, known for his studies of the Roman Republic in regard to its politics and society. He was the author of highly regarded bio ...

, then a leading authority on

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

history, and prepared his doctoral dissertation on "Psychology and Propaganda in Caesar's Writings." He was a frequent contributor to '' Historia'', ''

The Classical Journal ''The Classical Journal'' (''CJ'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of classical studies published by the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Print edition The journal currently has about 2300 subscribers, includin ...

'', and ''

Gnomon A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields, typically to measure directions, position, or time. History A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was ...

'', and achieved world recognition as an expert on

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. In 1958 he edited with Dero A. Saunders a noted edition of

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

's ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. Fluent in six languages, Collins taught at the overseas division of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, 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

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

at DeKalb where, in 1967, he received the NIU Excellence in Teaching award. In 1971, he received an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

mandatory retirement notice. Not ready to retire, he sought the aid of a former student, and protégé W.R.S., who was in a position to discuss the matter with then Illinois Governor

Richard Ogilvie Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923 – May 10, 1988) was an American attorney and law enforcement officer who served as the 35th governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the ma ...

. Mr. S. explained to the Governor that such an eminent Professor as John H. Collins was too highly respected in both American and European intellectual circles to fall victim to the state's arbitrary mandatory retirement system. Moreover, such an arbitrary decision pursuant to these select intellectual circles would bode ill for the State of Illinois' university system. Subsequently, the decision was made to retain Dr. Collins on a different contract. Upon Collins' retirement in 1978, a Northern Illinois University lecture hall was dedicated in his honor. He remained active in scholarly pursuits until his death in 1981.

References

p. 46 {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, John H. 1902 births 1981 deaths American classical scholars Cornell University alumni Northern Illinois University faculty Classical scholars of the University of California, Berkeley Historians of ancient Rome 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers People from Anaconda, Montana American male non-fiction writers Historians from California University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni