All Scholars
BOTSFORD, George Willis
- Date of Birth: May 09, 1862
- Born City: West Union
- Born State/Country: IA
- Parents: William Hiram & Margaret Johnson B.
- Date of Death: December 13, 1917
- Death City: New York
- Death State/Country: NY
- Married: Lillie M. Shaw, 30 Aug. 1891.
- Education:
A.B. U. Nebraska, 1884; study at Johns Hopkins, 1884-86; A.M. U. Nebraska, 1886; Ph.D. Cornell, 1891.
- Dissertation:
"The Development of the Athenian Constitution" (Cornell, 1891); printed (Boston, 1893).
- Professional Experience:
Prof. Gk. Kalamazoo College, 1886-90; instr. hist. Worcester (MA) Acad., 1891-3; prof. Gk. Bethany College (VA), 1893-95; instr. Gk. & Rom. hist. Harvard, 1895-1901; lctr. anc. hist. Columbia, 1902-3, instr., 1903-5; adj. prof., 1905-10, prof., 1910-17; ed. bd. Political Science Quarterly.
- Publications:
A History of Greece for High Schools and Academies (New York, 1899); A History of Rome for High Schools and Academies (New York, 1901); A History of the Orient and Greece (New York & London, 1901); An Ancient History for Beginners (New York & London, 1902); The Story of Rome as Greeks and Romans Tell It (New York & London, 1903); The Roman Assemblies from the Origin to the End of the Republic (New York, 1909); A History of the Ancient World (New York, 1911); A Source-Book of Ancient History, with Lillie Shaw Botsford (New York, 1912); Hellenic Civilization, with E. G. Sihler (New York, 1915); A Brief History of the World with Jay Barrett Botsford (New York, 1917); Hellenic History (posthumous), ed. Jay Barrett Botsford (New York, 1922; rev. ed. by C. A. Robinson, Jr., 1939; 5th ed. by Donald Kagan, 1960).
- Notes:
One of the most distinguished American ancient historians of the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Botsford was the epitome of the scholar-teacher-academician. Though reclusive, he was totally dedicated to his calling, and his influence was considerable, through his scholarly publications, textbooks, and source books in Greek and Roman history, which appealed widely to young people and the general public, as well as his professional peers. Botsford's work was tragically cut short at the height of his career.
- Sources:
C7 13 (1917-8) 375; DAB 2:468-9.
- Author: Meyer Reinhold
