Marion Elizabeth Blake (March 23, 1892 – September 11, 1961) was a

classical language According to the definition by George L. Hart, a classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large body of ancient written literature. Classical languages are usually extinct languages. Those that are still ...

s professor who is known for her work in researching the technology of Roman construction. Blake died in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in 1961.

Early life and education

Marion Blake was born in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

, the daughter of Arthur C. Blake and Elizabeth Snow Blake. She attended college at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

, where she earned her

Bachelor of Arts degree 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 degree ...

in 1913, majoring in the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

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 ...

languages. Blake earned her

Master of Arts degree 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 ...

(1917) and her

Ph.D. degree A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1921) from

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 ...

."Blake, Marion Elizabeth"
, Papers ca. 1913-1964, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections

Career

Blake was a professor of classical languages at a series of five American colleges during the years from 1912 through 1938:

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

(1921–1922),

Converse College Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits ...

(1922–1928),

(1929–1936),

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in ...

(1936), and

Winthrop College Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...

(1937–1938). Next, Blake took a professional position as a research associate in Roman Archaeology at the Carnegie Institute in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, (1938–47), and then she worked in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

from 1947 to 1961. The later work of Blake - that in Roman construction technology - was closely connected with that of Esther Boise Van Deman. Blake took up the task of completing Van Deman's unfinished manuscript on Roman construction technology following her death in 1937. Blake's third and final book, ''Roman construction in Italy from Nerva through the Antonines'', was completed after her own death in 1961 by yet another woman author, Doris Taylor Bishop (1917–1969).

Publications

*''Ancient Roman construction in Italy from the prehistoric period to Augustus. A chronological study based in part upon the material accumulated by Esther Boise Van Deman''. (Washington, 1947). *''Roman construction in Italy from Tiberius through the Flavians''. (Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1959). *''Roman construction in Italy from Nerva through the Antonines''. Edited and completed by Doris Taylor Bishop (1917–69). (Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, 1973).

References

External links

Marion Elizabeth Blake papers at Mount Holyoke College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Marion Elizabeth American women classical scholars Mount Holyoke College faculty Mount Holyoke College alumni Cornell University alumni 1892 births 1961 deaths Illinois College faculty Sweet Briar College faculty Winthrop University faculty American classical archaeologists Place of death missing American expatriates in Italy