John Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon, FBA (4 November 1901 – 18 September 1977), known as J. P. V. D. Balsdon in his academic work and otherwise as Dacre Balsdon, was an English ancient historian and writer. He was a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, from 1927 to 1969, and president of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 1968 to 1971.

Early life

Balsdon was born on 4 November 1901 in Bideford, Devon.[1] He was educated at Exeter School, Exeter. He studied classics at Exeter College, Oxford. In 1922, he was awarded first class honours in Mods,[2] and in 1924 he was also awarded first class honours in Greats.[3]

Academic career

Balsdon began his academic career as a teacher at Sedbergh School, then an all boys public boarding school. His first university post was as a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford.[1] From 1927, he was a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, where he taught Ancient History.[4] His research was primarily in Roman History.[5] In 1940, he was elected Junior Proctor of Oxford University; serving from March 1940 to March 1941.[6] In 1956, he was a candidate for the Rectorship of Exeter College, but lost out to Kenneth Wheare.[1] He served as president of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 1968 to 1971.[1] He retired from full-time academia in 1969.[4] The same year he was elected an emeritus Fellow of Exeter College.[7]

He also wrote novels using the name Dacre Balsdon; his academic works gave his name as J. P. V. D. Balsdon.

He was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1967.[4]

Bibliography

As J. P. V. D. Balsdon:

  • The Emperor Gaius (Caligula) (1934)
  • Roman Women: Their History and Habits (1962)
  • Julius Caesar and Rome[8] (1967)
  • The Romans (editor) (1965)
  • Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome (1969)
  • Rome: the Story of an Empire (1970)
  • The Historical Background (1974)
  • Social Life in the Early Empire (1974)
  • Romans and Aliens[9][10] (1980)

As Dacre Balsdon:

  • Freshman's Folly: An Oxford Comedy (1952)
  • Oxford Life (1957)
  • The Day They Burned Miss Termag (1961)
  • Oxford Now and Then (1970)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Obituary: Dr J. P. V. D. Balsdon". The Times. 21 September 1977. p. 16.
  2. ↑ "University News - Classical Moderations List". The Times. 10 April 1922.
  3. ↑ "University News - Oxford 'Greats' List". The Times. 30 July 1924.
  4. 1 2 3 "BALSDON, Dr (04/11/1901-18/09/1977)". Deceased Fellows. British Academy. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Balsdon, John Percy Vyvian Dacre (2002). Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome. ISBN 978-1842125939.
  6. ↑ "University News: Election of Proctors at Oxford". The Times. 22 February 1940. p. 11.
  7. ↑ "University News: Oxford". The Times. 21 October 1969. p. 12.
  8. ↑ Helmbold, Nancy Pearce (January 1968). "Julius Caesar: A Political Biography. J. P. V. D. Balsdon". Classical Philology. 63 (1): 91. doi:10.1086/365342. ISSN 0009-837X.
  9. ↑ Boren, Henry C. (1980). "Review of Romans and Aliens". The American Historical Review. 85 (5): 1179–1180. doi:10.2307/1853262. JSTOR 1853262.
  10. ↑ Millar, Fergus (19 June 1980). "Roman History in Chains". London Review of Books. pp. 17–18. ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 19 July 2018.

Further reading

  • P. A. Brunt: John Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon, 1901-1977, in: Proceedings of the British Academy 65, 1981, pp. 573–586 (PDF).


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