Robert Everett Allen Palmer II (1933 – March 11, 2006) was a historian and a leading figure in the study of archaic

Rome 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, ...

. At the time of his death was

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". ...

classical studies 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 and Roman literature and their original languages ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Palmer earned both his

B.A. 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 ...

(1953) and his

Ph.D. 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 ...

(1956) from the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. Palmer started his teaching career at 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 ...

. He began his Penn career in 1961 as an assistant professor of classical studies and was promoted to associate professor in 1966, and professor in 1970. Palmer was an historian of ancient Rome, with particular interests in Roman religion and epigraphy. He was the author of numerous articles and several books. His most important research was a project on the neighborhoods (''vici'') of ancient Rome. Palmer died at his home in

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merio ...

, at the age of 73.

Bibliography

* ''The king and the comitium: a study of Rome's oldest public document'' (1969). * ''Roman Religion and Roman Empire'' (1974). * ''The Archaic Community of the Romans'' (1970). * ''Rome and Carthage at Peace'' (1997).

References

* University of Pennsylvania Almanac v. 52, no. 27 (28 March 200

* Obituary in ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Robert E.A. 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American classical scholars 1933 births 2006 deaths Classical scholars of the University of Pennsylvania Historians of ancient Rome Johns Hopkins University alumni American male non-fiction writers