Basil L. Gildersleeve

Basil L. Gildersleeve
Classical philology professor
Known for	Founder of the American Journal of Philology
Academic background
Alma mater	Princeton University (BA) University of Bonn University of Göttingen (PhD)
Academic advisors	Johannes Franz Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin
Academic work
Institutions	University of Virginia Johns Hopkins University
Signature

Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (October 23, 1831 – January 9, 1924) was an American classical scholar. An author of numerous works, and founding editor of the American Journal of Philology, he has been credited with contributions to the syntax of Greek and Latin, and the history of Greek literature.^[1]

Early life and education

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Gildersleeve was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Emma Louisa Lanneau, daughter of Bazille Lanneau and Hannah Vinyard, and Benjamin Gildersleeve (1791–1875). His father was a Presbyterian evangelist, and editor of the Charleston Christian Observer from 1826 to 1845, of the Richmond, Virginia Watchman and Observer from 1845 to 1856, and of The Central Presbyterian from 1856 to 1860.

His maternal grandfather was Bazile Lanneau (born Basile Lanoue), one of the many French Acadians who were forcibly expelled by the British from present day Nova Scotia during the French and Indian War. His maternal grandmother was Hannah Vinyard.

Gildersleeve graduated from

Upon returning to the United States, he was offered a position as a Classics professor at Princeton University, but he turned it down.^[2] From 1856 to 1876, he was professor of Greek at the University of Virginia, holding the chair of Latin also from 1861 to 1866.^[3] He married Eliza Fisher Colston on September 18, 1866 in Middlebury, Virginia. After service for the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War, during which Gildersleeve was shot in the leg, he returned to the University of Virginia.^[4]

Johns Hopkins University

Ten years later, he accepted an offer from Daniel Coit Gilman to teach at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.^[5] When the Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876, Gildersleeve was one of five original full professors and was responsible for setting up a program in the study of Greek and Roman literature, at which he succeeded admirably. He chose junior faculty and graduate students who went on to make a major impact in classical studies, at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere. His hiring also helped to reassure the Baltimore community that the new university was not just a northern institution transplanted south. Johns Hopkins was known to be opposed to slavery, founding president Daniel Coit Gilman was from Connecticut, and most other faculty were from the northern states, which led to suspicion regarding the intent of the new institution.^[6]

In 1880, the

Gildersleeve's bent was toward Greek more than Latin. His special interest in

syntactical formulae." Gildersleeve's studies under Franz had no doubt quickened his interest in Greek syntax, and his logic, untrammeled by previous categories, and his marvelous sympathy with the language were displayed in this most unlikely of places. His Syntax of Classic Greek (Part I, 1900, with CWE Miller) collects these formulae. Gildersleeve edited in 1885 The Olympian and Pythian Odes of Pindar, with what was called "a brilliant and valuable introduction." His views on the function of grammar were summarized in a paper on The Spiritual Rights of Minute Research delivered at Bryn Mawr on June 16, 1895. His collected contributions to literary periodicals appeared in 1890 under the title Essays and Studies Educational and Literary.^[3]

Johns Hopkins Press later published them in a book in 1915.^[8]

He was elected

Litt.D. from Oxford and Cambridge

(1905).

Death and legacy

Gildersleeve retired from teaching in 1915. He died on January 9, 1924, and was buried at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville, Virginia. In a memorial published in the American Journal of Philology, Professor C. W. E. Miller paid tribute to Gildersleeve, stating, "Of Greek authors, there were few with whom he did not have more than a bowing acquaintance."^[12]

In more recent years, Gildersleeve has received critical attention for his unapologetic

Confederate Army and as a professor at the University of Virginia, which feature vitriolic attacks on critics of slavery with parallels drawn to ancient Greek authors and situations. He expressed his contempt for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whom he considered inept. Jews also came under attack in his writings, including Confederate cabinet officer Judah P. Benjamin, and those accused of miscegenation.^[13]

Gildersleeve House, one of the undergraduate dormitories at

Katherine Lane Weems made the two rhinoceros sculptures at Harvard University

.

Fannie Manning Gildersleeve, a black woman born approximately 1869, lists Basil Gildersleeve as her father on her funeral records. Fannie Gildersleeve was married to Charlottesville, Virginia educator Benjamin Tonsler.^[14]

The University of Virginia's Classics program offers a distinguished professorship in Gildersleeve's honor. It is currently held by Anthony Corbeill.^[15]

References

1. ^ Gilman, Daniel Coit; Peck, Harry Thurston; Colby, Frank Moore, eds. (1902). "GILDERSLEEVE, BASIL LANNEAU". The New International Encyclopedia. New York: Dodd, Mead. p. 370. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
2. ^ Leitch, Alexander (1978). "Gildersleeve, Basil Lanneau". Princeton University. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
3. ^ ^{a b c}  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gildersleeve, Basil Lanneau". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 12–13.
4. ^ Stimpert, James (September 18, 2000). "Hopkins History: First Greek Prof, Basil Gildersleeve". The Johns Hopkins Gazette. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
5. ISBN 978-0-8139-1743-6
   .
6. ^ John C. French, A History of the University Founded by Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, 1946, pp. 35-36
7. ^ Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve; Gonzalez Lodge (1903). Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar. New York, Boston University Publishing Company.
8. Johns Hopkins Press (Project Gutenberg
   ). Retrieved 2 July 2021.
9. ^ "Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
10. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
11. ^ "Past Honorary Degree Recipients". University of Chicago. Retrieved 30 September 2020./
12. ^ CWE Miller, "Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve," American Journal of Philology, Vol. 45, p 99
13. ^ Ward Briggs, Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve and the Civil War, Charlottesville, VA, 1998
14. ^ "J.F. Bell Funeral Home Records Search Results". The Virginia Center for Digital History (VCDH). Retrieved 10 August 2020.
15. ^ "Anthony Corbeill". University of Virginia. Retrieved February 12, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve.

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve

• Basil L. Gildersleeve at the Database of Classical Scholars
• Works by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Basil L. Gildersleeve at Internet Archive
• Works by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, at
  Hathi Trust
• Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (1900), Syntax of Classical Greek Archived 2015-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
  New International Encyclopedia
  (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
• Gikandi, Simon: "Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve"