Overview
James Rignall Wheeler (1859-1918) was a scholar of Greek language, literature, art, and archaeology, and professor of Greek and Latin at Harvard University, the University of Vermont, and Columbia University. His personal archive consists primarily of approximately 50 undated blue books containing Wheeler’s lecture notes on a variety of topics, including Classical authors, art and archeological topics, and unidentified manuscripts with handwritten notes in Greek and English.
Dates
- Creation: [circa 1888-1918]
Creator
- Wheeler, James Rignall, 1859-1918 (Person)
Language of Materials
English, Greek
Researcher Access
The James Rignall Wheeler personal archive is open for research.
Extent
1.58 cubic feet (1 record carton, 1 extra-wide document box)The James Rignall Wheeler personal archive consists primarily of approximately 50 blue books containing Wheeler’s lecture notes. The booklets are undated, but they appear to be his teaching notes; it is possible that the majority of these notes were generated while Wheeler was at Harvard, as many of the blue books were sold by Harvard Square shops, such as the Harvard Cooperative Society, Amee Brothers, and Charles W. Sever, with a few from the University of Vermont.
The notes' topics relate to Classical authors, such as Pindar, Aristotle, Thucydides, and Bacchylides, as well as Greek art and archeological topics, including curse inscriptions at Epidaurus, Athenian grave monuments, and Polygnotus. There are also unidentified manuscripts, comprised of loose sheets of paper with handwritten notes in Greek and English.
Biographical note on James Rignall Wheeler
James Rignall Wheeler (1859-1918) was a scholar of Greek language, literature, art, and archaeology, and professor of Greek and Latin. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in 1880, then went on to complete AM and PhD degrees from Harvard University in 1885. He was an instructor in Greek and Latin at Harvard from 1888 to 1889, and professor of Greek at the University of Vermont from 1889 to 1895. Wheeler was then appointed Professor of Greek at Columbia University in 1895, where he stayed for the remainder of his career; at the time of his death in 1918, he was Head of Columbia’s Department of Archaeology and Greek Art, and one of the leading classical scholars in the country. He co-authored the manual A Handbook of Greek Archaeology in 1909,” and served as associate editor of the American Journal of Archaeology from 1906 to 1911. Wheeler died in 1918.
Acquisition
Transferred from the Columbia University Archives on October 29, 2018; Accession 2020.012.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2022 May 02.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in January-February 2022. Processing included the creation of this finding aid. Titles were transcribed from the original folders; titles enclosed in brackets were devised by the archivist.
Creator
- Wheeler, James Rignall, 1859-1918 (Person)
- Title
- Wheeler, James Rignall, 1859-1918. James Rignall Wheeler personal archive, [circa 1888-1918] : an inventory
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Date
- January 20, 2022
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hua05022
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
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