John Percival Postgate
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John Percival Postgate, FBA (24 October 1853 – 15 July 1926) was an English
classicist 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 ...
and academic. He was a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
from 1878 until his death, and also taught at
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...
(1877–1909) and
University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
(1880–1908). Having been passed over for the Chair of Latin at the University of Cambridge, he was Professor of Latin 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 ...
from 1909 to 1920. He was a member of the
Postgate family The Postgate family is an English family that has been notable in a variety of different fields. It originated in the North York Moors and records go back to land held by Postgates in 1200. Fields and a farm bearing the name still exist. The name ...
.


Biography

Postgate was born on 24 October 1853 in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, to John Postgate. He was educated at
King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...
, an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
all-boys school, where he became
head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...
. He
matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...
into
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
in 1872 as a
sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...
, where he read for the
Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to '' Literae Humaniores'' at Oxford University. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previ ...
. He was awarded a scholarship in 1874. He graduated from the
University of Cambridge 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 ...
with a first class
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(BA) degree in 1876. As per tradition, his BA was promoted to a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
(MA Cantab) degree. Postgate was a college lecturer in classics
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...
from 1877 to 1909; the student's of the all-women college were often left in tears following his classes. He was elected a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1878; he held the post until his death. He was additionally Professor of Comparative Philology at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
from 1880 to 1908. At Trinity College, he was a college lecturer in classics 1884 to 1903 and then a senior lecturer from 1903 to 1909. He was deputy reader in comparative philology at the University of Cambridge from 1889 to 1890. He was a possible candidate to succeed John E. B. Mayor as Professor of Latin, but he likely (and rightly) assumed the chair would got to
A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...
instead. In 1909, he left Cambridge and was appointed Professor of Latin 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 ...
. His salary for the Liverpool chair was £500 a year plus a share in student fees (anywhere between £600 and £1000), thereby totalling more than £1000; in contrast a chair at Cambridge only paid £300. He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1886. In 1907, he was elected a
Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...
(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. He established himself as a creative editor of
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
with published editions of
Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...
,
Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...
,
Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a few r ...
and Phaedrus. His major work was the two-volume ''Corpus Poetarum Latinorum'', a triumph of editorial organisation. An influential work was his often reprinted "The New Latin Primer", 1888, much used in British schools over subsequent decades. While at Cambridge, he edited the '' Classical Review'' and the '' Classical Quarterly''. He was the first honorary secretary (1903–1906) of the
Classical Association The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of Classics, classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical ...
, an educational organisation founded to promote the study of classical subjects in schools and universities, and was its president from 1924 to 1925. Gibson, Roy (2010)
From Postgate to Present: Professors of Latin at the University of Liverpool
, ''John Percival Postgate Lecture''. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
He retired in 1920, and was made
professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
by the University of Liverpool. He then moved back to Cambridge.


Personal life

In June 1891, Postgate married Edith Allen (1863–1962), a former student of his. She was the sister of T. W. Allen, a classical scholar. Together, they had six children among whom were Raymond Postgate (a journalist, historian, novelist and food writer), and
Margaret Cole Dame Margaret Isabel Cole ( Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in London ...
(a Fabian politician). Through Raymond, he was grandfather to the
animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
and
puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...
Oliver Postgate Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008) was an English Animation, animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television programmes. ''Bagpuss'', ''Pingwings' ...
and the
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
John Postgate FRS (1922–2014). Postgate's relationship with his son Raymond and daughter Margaret were strained when they championed
pacificism Pacificism is the general term for ethical opposition to violence or war unless force is deemed necessary. Together with pacifism, it is born from the Western tradition or attitude that calls for peace. The latter involves the unconditional refus ...
during the First World War. While he attempted to use his influence behind the scenes to support his son when he was prosecuted for his beliefs, he otherwise disowned him and refused to acknowledge his marriage to Daisy Lansbury. He also wrote Raymond and Margaret out of his will except for a £100 a year pension for each from the age of 55. On 14 July 1926, he was injured in a cycling accident, when he was knocked off his bicycle by a lorry in Cambridge. He was taken to
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is a large teaching hospital and research centre 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 to ...
but died of his injuries the following day. He was worth £33,029 at the time of his death, the majority of which (£27,000) was donated to the University of Liverpool; it had first been offered to Trinity College, Cambridge, but they refused the legacy.


Published works

* ''The New Latin Primer'' (London, 1888) * ''Sermo Latinus. A Short Guide to Latin Prose Composition'' (London, 1889; revised and enlarged ed. 1913) * (ed.) ''Corpus Poetarum Latinorum,'' 2 vols. (London, 1905–1920) * (ed.) ''Tibulli Aliorumque Carminum Libri Tres.'' Oxford Classical Texts (Oxford, 1905) * (1908) * (ed. and tr., with F.W. Cornish and J.W. Mackail) ''Catullus, Tibullus and Pervigilium Veneris.'' Loeb Classical Library (London, 1912) * (ed. with notes) ''M. Annaei Lucani De Bello Civili Liber VII'' (Cambridge, 1917; rev. ed. by O.A.W. Dilke, Bristol, 1978) * (ed. with notes) ''M. Annaei Lucani De Bello Civili Liber VIII'' (Cambridge, 1917) * ''Translation and Translations. Theory and Practice'' (London, 1922) * ''Prosodia Latina. An Introduction to Classical Latin Verse'' (Oxford, 1923) * ''A Short Guide to the Accentuation of Ancient Greek'' (Liverpool, 1924) * (ed.) ''Phaedri Fabulae Aesopiae.'' Oxford Classical Texts (Oxford, 1934)


References


Further reading

* Todd, R. B. (ed.) (2004) ''Dictionary of British Classicists''


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Postgate, John Percival 1853 births 1926 deaths English classical scholars People from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Liverpool Scholars of Latin literature English male writers
John Percival John Percival (3 April 1779 – 7 September 1862), known as Mad Jack Percival, was a celebrated officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812, the campaign against West Indies pirates, and the Mexican–Ame ...
Fellows of the British Academy Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the Classical Association Alumni of the University of Liverpool