Turpin Chambers Bannister (1 October 1904 – 15 March 1982) was one of the leading American architectural historians of his generation. A long-time professor at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, he is best known for his work in architectural history, including his work with The

Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago in the United States, the Society's 3,500 members include ...

, and editorship of '' The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians''.

Biography

Turpin C. Bannister was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

in 1904.Bannister, Turpin Chambers, 1904-1982. Papers, 1939-1982. University of Florida Archives (Manuscript Collection 4). Bannister received his bachelor's degree from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary a ...

in Granville,

, in 1925 and a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1928. By his early 20s, Bannister had become highly involved in the national music fraternity

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

. He was so involved that by 1926 he had served on a national committee to revise the fraternity's Initiation Ritual. The committee was composed of

Peter W. Dykema Peter William Dykema (25 November 1873 – 13 May 1951) was an important force in the growth of the National Association for Music Education (initially known as the Music Supervisors National Conference), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity, and the m ...

(ΦΜΑ Supreme President), Charles E. Lutton (ΦΜΑ Supreme Secretary), Rollin Pease (ΦΜΑ Supreme Historian), and Bannister. Their revisions to the Ritual paid tribute to the founder,

Ossian Everett Mills Ossian Everett Mills (February 16, 1856 – December 26, 1920) was the founder of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, at the New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music scho ...

who had died in 1920. From 1932 to 1944 he taught at

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...

, first as a design instructor and later as an architectural historian. During this time period he was hired by the Federal Writers Project of the

Works Project Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) to assist in the preparation of the Federal Guide Series book on New York State. From December 1938 to August 1939, and in February 1940, he was employed as an editor and writer. The guide's introductory essay on architecture was written by Bannister. Bannister was one of the original five or six young scholars who talked informally but earnestly during the 1938 Harvard Summer Session about the formation of a professional organization of architectural historians. The first organized meeting of The American Society of Architectural Historians finally occurred on July 31, 1940 when twenty five charter members elected Bannister the first President, and directed him to edit a ''Journal''. The Society would abridge its name a decade later to The

. The Journal that Bannister published would go on to be known as The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 41, No. 4. (Dec., 1982), pp. 279-280. After his initial involvement, Bannister continued to widely contribute to the Journal throughout his career. Bannister completed his studies at Harvard's School of Architecture, where he received his Ph.D. in 1944. That year he left Rensselaer and became dean of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute's School of Architecture and Arts in Auburn. In 1948, he moved to the

University of Illinois at Urbana The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

and was Professor of Architecture for ten years, seven of which he served as head of the Department of Architecture. In 1958, he came to the

and served as dean until 1965 when he suffered a stroke. He died March 15, 1982 in Williston,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Associations

*Historic America Buildings Survey (past advisory board member) *Medieval Academy *

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

(past advisory board member) *New York Historical Association *

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

*Thornton Society

Books

*''An introduction to architecture'' (1937) *''Iron and architecture: A study in building and invention from Ancient Times to 1700'' (1944) *''One hundred books on architecture'' (1945) *''The architecture of the octagon in New York State'' (1945) *''Evolution and achievement (American Institute of Architects. Commission for the survey of education and registration. The architect at mid-century; report)'' (1954) *''Modern architecture: A syllabus of buildings illustrating the development of architecture since the mid-eighteenth century'' (1957) *''Medieval architecture: A syllabus of buildings illustrating the development of European architecture from the fourth through the fifteenth centuries'' (1959) *''Oglethorpe's sources for the Savannah plan'' (1961) *''A venture toward verity (The Florida Architect)'' (1963) *''The Constantinian basilica of Saint Peter at Rome'' (1968)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannister, Turpin 1904 births 1982 deaths Denison University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Auburn University faculty Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty University of Illinois faculty American architectural historians Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia University of Florida faculty 20th-century American historians People from Lima, Ohio 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Historians from Ohio