William Bedell Stanford

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William Bedell Stanford (1911 - 1984), was an Irish classical scholar and senator. He was Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity College, Dublin between 1940 and 1980 and served as the twenty-second Chancellor of the University between 1982 and 1984. He was born in Belfast, the son of a Dublin-born clergyman who served in Waterford and Tipperary. He was educated at Bishop Foy's School in Waterford, where a special teacher had to be recruited to coach him in Greek. He subsequently won a sizarship to Trinity College. He was elected a Foundation Scholar in his second year at Trinity and also served as Auditor of the College Classical Society. He became a Fellow in 1934 and was one of the last Fellows to be elected by examination. Stanford was one of 7 candidates nominated for the Provostship of the University on March 11, 1952 but was eliminated along with two other candidates in the first round of the election. He was considered, at the age of 41, to be too junior.^[1]. The successful candidate on that occasion was the mathematician, A.J. McConnell, who remained in office for 20 years.

1 Academic career
2 Seanad career
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External link

[edit] Academic career

Stanford established himself as a Greek scholar in his twenties with the publication of two books which approached Greek literature as a subject for literary criticism, Greek metaphor and Ambiguity in Greek literature. He is perhaps best remembered for his commentaries aimed at students on Homer's Odyssey, Aristophanes' Frogs, and Sophocles' Ajax.

In 1965, Stanford gave the Sather Lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, on the topic of the pronunciation of Ancient Greek. The lectures were revised into a book published in 1967.

Stanford had a particular interest in the classical tradition, both in Ireland and elsewhere, and published a number of articles on this topic in the Trinity journal Hermathena, as well as a brief but wide-ranging book entitled Ireland and the classical tradition.

After Stanford's death, a series of lectures in his honour was established at Trinity College, Dublin. The first lecturer in the series was Duncan Kennedy, a former student of Stanford's.

[edit] Seanad career

He also represented Trinity in the Seanad between 1951 and 1969. During the 1950s, however, he had the courage to come out publicly against the notorious Fethard Boycott and he also demanded an inquiry into the assault on Jehovah's Witnesses in Clare. In both cases, de Valera proved sympathetic personally but declined to take any public action

[edit] Bibliography

Greek metaphor : studies in theory and practice, Oxford 1936
Ambiguity in Greek Literature, Oxford 1939
Aeschylus in his style : a study in language and personality, Dublin 1942
The Odyssey of Homer. Vol.1 (Books 1-12), London 1947
The Odyssey of Homer. Vol.2 (Books 13-24), London 1948
The Ulysses theme : a study in the adaptability of a traditional hero, Oxford 1955
The Frogs, by Aristophanes, London 1958
Ajax, by Sophocles, London 1963
The sound of Greek : studies in the Greek theory and practice of euphony, Berkeley 1967
Mahaffy: a biography of an Anglo-Irishman (with Robert Brendan McDowell), London 1971
The quest for Ulysses (with John Victor Luce), London 1974
Ireland and the classical tradition, Dublin 1976
Enemies of poetry, London 1980
Greek tragedy and the emotions : an introductory study, London 1983
The Travels of Lord Charlemont in Greece & Turkey, 1749 (with Eustathios J Finopoulos), London 1984
Stanford : Regius Professor of Greek, 1940-80, Trinity College, Dublin : memoirs, Dublin 2002