Michael GrantCBE (21 November 1914 – 4 October 2004) was an English classicist, numismatist, and author of numerous books on ancient history.[1] His 1956 translation of Tacitus's Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. Having studied and held a number of academic posts in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, he retired early to devote himself fully to writing. He once described himself as "one of the very few freelancers in the field of ancient history: a rare phenomenon". As a populariser, his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership. He published over 70 works.
Grant was born in London, the son of Col. Maurice Grant who served in the Boer War and later wrote part of its official history. Young Grant attended Harrow and read classics (1933–37) at Trinity College, Cambridge. His speciality was academic numismatics. His research fellowship thesis later became his first published book – From Imperium to Auctoritas (1946), on Roman bronze coins. Over the next decade he wrote four books on Roman coinage; his view was that the tension between the eccentricity of the Roman emperors and the traditionalism of the Roman mint made coins (used as both propaganda and currency) a unique social record.
During World War II, Grant served for a year as an intelligence officer in London after which he was assigned (1940) as the UK's first British Council representative in Turkey. In this capacity he was instrumental in getting his friend, the eminent historian Steven Runciman, his position at Istanbul University. While in Turkey, he also married Anne-Sophie Beskow (they had two sons). At war's end, the couple returned to the UK with Grant's collection of almost 700 Roman coins (now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge).
After a brief return to Cambridge, Grant applied for the vacant chair of Humanity (Latin) at Edinburgh University which he held from 1948 until 1959. During a two-year (1956–58) leave of absence he also served as vice-chancellor (president) of the University of Khartoum – upon his departure, he turned the university over to the newly independent Sudanese government. He was then vice-chancellor of Queen's University of Belfast (1959–66), after which he pursued a career as a full-time writer. According to his obituary in The Times he was "one of the few classical historians to win respect from [both] academics and a lay readership".[2] Immensely prolific, he wrote and edited more than 70 books of nonfiction and translation, covering topics from Roman coinage and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the Gospels. He produced general surveys of ancient Greek, Roman and Israelite history as well as biographies of giants such as Julius Caesar, Herod the Great, Cleopatra, Nero, Jesus, St. Peter and St. Paul.[3]
As early as the 1950s, Grant's publishing success was somewhat controversial within the classicist community. According to The Times:
Grant's approach to classical history was beginning to divide critics. Numismatists felt that his academic work was beyond reproach, but some academics balked at his attempt to condense a survey of Roman literature into 300 pages, and felt (in the words of one reviewer) that "even the most learned and gifted of historians should observe a speed-limit". The academics would keep cavilling, but the public kept buying.[4]
From 1966 until his death, Grant lived with his wife in Gattaiola, a village near Lucca in Tuscany. His autobiography, My First Eighty Years, appeared in 1994.
From Imperium to Auctoritas (1946; rev. ed., 1971)
Aspects of the Principate of Tiberius: Historical Comments on the Colonial Coinage Issued Outside Spain (1950), New York: American Numismatic Society (Series: Numismatic Notes and Monographs, no. 116).
Roman Anniversary Issues: An Exploratory Study of the Numismatic and Medallic Commemoration of Anniversary Years, 49 B.C. – A.D. 375. (1950), Cambridge University Press
Ancient History (1952)
The Six Main Aes Coinages of Augustus (1953), Edinburgh: University Press.
The Jews in the Roman World (1973; rev. ed., 1984)
Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology, with John Hazel (1973), G. & C. Merriam Co
Who's Who in Classical Mythology, with John Hazel (1973; Slightly revised 1993 & 2002)
Caesar (1974), introduction by Elizabeth Longford (Reprint of 1969 book?)
The Army of the Caesars (1974)
Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum (1974)
The Twelve Caesars (1975)
Erotic Art in Pompeii: The Secret Collection of the National Museum of Naples (1975), London: Octopus Books Ltd; Photos by Antonia Mulas, Collection descriptions by Antonio De Simone and Maria Teresa Merella (Original publication in Italian, 1974)
Greece and Italy in the Classical World (1978; rev. ed., 19??)
The Art and Life of Pompeii and Herculaneum (1979)
The Etruscans (1980)
Greek and Latin Authors: 800 BC – AD 1000 (1980)
Dawn of the Middle Ages (1981) — coffee table book
From Alexander to Cleopatra: the Hellenistic World (1982) [a.k.a. The Hellenistic Greeks (1990)]
The History of Ancient Israel (1984)
The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome 31 B.C. - A.D. 476 (1985)
Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology: A Dictionary, with John Hazel (1985), Dorset Press
A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names (1986)
The Rise of the Greeks (1987)
The Classical Greeks (1989)
The Visible Past: Greek and Roman History from Archaeology, 1960–1990 (1990) [a.k.a. The Visible Past: An Archaeological Reinterpretation of Ancient History]
The Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990. ISBN978-0-02-028560-1. Revised edition; first published 1976.
Founders of the Western World: A History of Greece and Rome (1991) [a.k.a. A Short History of Classical Civilization]
Greeks and Romans: A Social History (1992) [a.k.a. A Social History of Greece and Rome]
The Emperor Constantine (1993) [a.k.a. Constantine the Great: The Man and His Times (1994)]
The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition (1994)
St Peter: A Biography (1994)
My First Eighty Years (1994), Autobiography
The Sayings of the Bible (1994), Duckworth Sayings Series
Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation (1995)
Art in the Roman Empire (1995)
The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire (1996)
From Rome to Byzantium: The Fifth Century (1998)
Collapse and Recovery of the Roman Empire (1999; series: Routledge Key Guides)
Sick Caesars (2000)
Translations
Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome (1956; Rev. ed., 1977)
Cicero, Selected Works (1960; Rev. eds., 1965, 1971)
"Translating Latin Prose", ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, Vol. 2, No. 2; April 1971. (Reprinted in Radice William and Barbara Reynolds (1987), The Translator's Art: Essays in Honor of Betty Radice, Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp 81–91.)
Foreword (1993), In: Reprint of Liddell Hart, B.H., Scipio Africanus, Greater than Napoleon (1994), New York: Da Capo Press, pp v–xi.
Entry, "Julius Caesar" [Review of the 1953 film], In: Carnes, Mark C., ed. (1995), Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies, New York: Henry Holt and Company (Series: A Society of American Historians Book), pp 44–47.
References
^"Professor Michael Grant". Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
^"Michael Grant" [Obit.], The Times, 13 October 2004.
^Martin, Douglas, "Michael Grant, Who Wrote Histories of the Ancient World, Is Dead at 89" [Obit., The New York Times, 25 October 2004.
^"Michael Grant" [Obit.], The Times, 13 October 2004.
^"The Society's Medal". The Royal Numismatic Society. 23 May 2014.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Michael Grant (classicist).
Translated Penguin Book - at Penguin First Editions reference site of early first edition Penguin Books.
michael, grant, classicist, others, same, name, michael, grant, disambiguation, michael, grant, november, 1914, october, 2004, english, classicist, numismatist, author, numerous, books, ancient, history, 1956, translation, tacitus, annals, imperial, rome, rema. For others of the same name see Michael Grant disambiguation Michael Grant CBE 21 November 1914 4 October 2004 was an English classicist numismatist and author of numerous books on ancient history 1 His 1956 translation of Tacitus s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work Having studied and held a number of academic posts in the United Kingdom and the Middle East he retired early to devote himself fully to writing He once described himself as one of the very few freelancers in the field of ancient history a rare phenomenon As a populariser his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership He published over 70 works Michael GrantCBEBorn21 November 1914London EnglandDied4 October 2004 2004 10 04 aged 89 Tuscany ItalyNationalityEnglishAcademic backgroundAlma materTrinity College CambridgeAcademic workDisciplineClassicsSub disciplineAncient RomenumismaticsRoman coinageearly ChristianityInstitutionsUniversity of Edinburgh University of Khartoum Queen s University Belfast Contents 1 Biography 2 Degrees honours and accolades 3 Bibliography 3 1 Original works 3 2 Translations 3 3 Editor reviser 3 4 Contributor 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditGrant was born in London the son of Col Maurice Grant who served in the Boer War and later wrote part of its official history Young Grant attended Harrow and read classics 1933 37 at Trinity College Cambridge His speciality was academic numismatics His research fellowship thesis later became his first published book From Imperium to Auctoritas 1946 on Roman bronze coins Over the next decade he wrote four books on Roman coinage his view was that the tension between the eccentricity of the Roman emperors and the traditionalism of the Roman mint made coins used as both propaganda and currency a unique social record During World War II Grant served for a year as an intelligence officer in London after which he was assigned 1940 as the UK s first British Council representative in Turkey In this capacity he was instrumental in getting his friend the eminent historian Steven Runciman his position at Istanbul University While in Turkey he also married Anne Sophie Beskow they had two sons At war s end the couple returned to the UK with Grant s collection of almost 700 Roman coins now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge After a brief return to Cambridge Grant applied for the vacant chair of Humanity Latin at Edinburgh University which he held from 1948 until 1959 During a two year 1956 58 leave of absence he also served as vice chancellor president of the University of Khartoum upon his departure he turned the university over to the newly independent Sudanese government He was then vice chancellor of Queen s University of Belfast 1959 66 after which he pursued a career as a full time writer According to his obituary in The Times he was one of the few classical historians to win respect from both academics and a lay readership 2 Immensely prolific he wrote and edited more than 70 books of nonfiction and translation covering topics from Roman coinage and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the Gospels He produced general surveys of ancient Greek Roman and Israelite history as well as biographies of giants such as Julius Caesar Herod the Great Cleopatra Nero Jesus St Peter and St Paul 3 As early as the 1950s Grant s publishing success was somewhat controversial within the classicist community According to The Times Grant s approach to classical history was beginning to divide critics Numismatists felt that his academic work was beyond reproach but some academics balked at his attempt to condense a survey of Roman literature into 300 pages and felt in the words of one reviewer that even the most learned and gifted of historians should observe a speed limit The academics would keep cavilling but the public kept buying 4 From 1966 until his death Grant lived with his wife in Gattaiola a village near Lucca in Tuscany His autobiography My First Eighty Years appeared in 1994 Degrees honours and accolades EditLitt D Cambridge Hon Litt D Dublin Hon LL D Queen s University Belfast Honorary Fellow Royal Numismatic Society Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society 1962 5 President Royal Numismatic Society Archer M Huntington Medalist American Numismatic Society OBE 1946 CBE 1958 Bibliography EditOriginal works Edit From Imperium to Auctoritas 1946 rev ed 1971 Aspects of the Principate of Tiberius Historical Comments on the Colonial Coinage Issued Outside Spain 1950 New York American Numismatic Society Series Numismatic Notes and Monographs no 116 Roman Anniversary Issues An Exploratory Study of the Numismatic and Medallic Commemoration of Anniversary Years 49 B C A D 375 1950 Cambridge University Press Ancient History 1952 The Six Main Aes Coinages of Augustus 1953 Edinburgh University Press Roman Imperial Money 1954 Thomas Nelson amp Sons Ltd Roman History from Coins 1958 Rev ed 1968 Cambridge University Press The World of Rome 1960 rev eds 19 1974 1987 The Ancient Mediterranean 1961 rev ed 1969 Myths of the Greeks and Romans 1962 new biblio 1986 amp 1995 ISBN 0 452 01162 0 Greece and Rome The Birth of Western Civilization 1964 rev ed 1986 The Civilizations of Europe 1965 The Gladiators 1967 The Climax of Rome The Final Achievements of the Ancient World AD 161 337 1968 rev eds 19 1974 Julius Caesar 1969 The Ancient Historians 1970 The Roman Forum 1970 rev ed 1974 Nero 1970 Herod the Great 1971 Roman Myths 1971 rev eds 1972 1973 Cities of Vesuvius Pompeii and Herculaneum 1971 Atlas of Classical History 1971 rev eds 1974 1986 1989 1994 a k a Ancient History Atlas Cleopatra 1972 rev ed 1974 Weidenfeld amp Nicolson The Jews in the Roman World 1973 rev ed 1984 Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology with John Hazel 1973 G amp C Merriam Co Who s Who in Classical Mythology with John Hazel 1973 Slightly revised 1993 amp 2002 Caesar 1974 introduction by Elizabeth Longford Reprint of 1969 book The Army of the Caesars 1974 Cities of Vesuvius Pompeii and Herculaneum 1974 The Twelve Caesars 1975 Erotic Art in Pompeii The Secret Collection of the National Museum of Naples 1975 London Octopus Books Ltd Photos by Antonia Mulas Collection descriptions by Antonio De Simone and Maria Teresa Merella Original publication in Italian 1974 Saint Paul 1976 London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson ISBN 0 297 77082 9 New York Charles Scribner s Sons ISBN 0 684 14682 7 Reprint New York Crossroad 1982 ISBN 0 824 50434 8 Jesus An Historian s Review of the Gospels 1977 New York Charles Scribner s Sons ISBN 0 684 14889 7 Reprint 2004 ISBN 1 898 79988 1 History of Rome 1978 ISBN 0 02 345610 8 ISBN 978 0 571 11461 0 Greece and Italy in the Classical World 1978 rev ed 19 The Art and Life of Pompeii and Herculaneum 1979 The Etruscans 1980 Greek and Latin Authors 800 BC AD 1000 1980 Dawn of the Middle Ages 1981 coffee table book From Alexander to Cleopatra the Hellenistic World 1982 a k a The Hellenistic Greeks 1990 The History of Ancient Israel 1984 The Roman Emperors A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome 31 B C A D 476 1985 Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology A Dictionary with John Hazel 1985 Dorset Press A Guide to the Ancient World A Dictionary of Classical Place Names 1986 The Rise of the Greeks 1987 The Classical Greeks 1989 The Visible Past Greek and Roman History from Archaeology 1960 1990 1990 a k a The Visible Past An Archaeological Reinterpretation of Ancient History The Fall of the Roman Empire New York Collier Books Macmillan Publishing Company 1990 ISBN 978 0 02 028560 1 Revised edition first published 1976 Founders of the Western World A History of Greece and Rome 1991 a k a A Short History of Classical Civilization Greeks and Romans A Social History 1992 a k a A Social History of Greece and Rome The Emperor Constantine 1993 a k a Constantine the Great The Man and His Times 1994 The Antonines The Roman Empire in Transition 1994 St Peter A Biography 1994 My First Eighty Years 1994 Autobiography The Sayings of the Bible 1994 Duckworth Sayings Series Greek and Roman Historians Information and Misinformation 1995 Art in the Roman Empire 1995 The Severans The Changed Roman Empire 1996 From Rome to Byzantium The Fifth Century 1998 Collapse and Recovery of the Roman Empire 1999 series Routledge Key Guides Sick Caesars 2000 Translations Edit Tacitus The Annals of Imperial Rome 1956 Rev ed 1977 Cicero Selected Works 1960 Rev eds 1965 1971 Cicero Selected Political Speeches 1969 Cicero Cicero on the Good Life 1971 Cicero Murder Trials 1975 Cicero On Government 1993 Editor reviser Edit Roman Literature 1954 Rev eds 1958 1964 Cambridge University Press Roman Readings 1958 Rev ed 1967 a k a Latin Literature An Anthology 1979 New biblio 1989 Greek Literature in Translation 1973 a k a Greek Literature An Anthology Translations from Greek Prose and Poetry Suetonius The Twelve Caesars An Illustrated Edition 1979 Revision of Robert Graves 1957 translation Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean with R Kitzinger 1988 Apuleius The Golden Ass 1990 Revision of Robert Graves 1950 translation Readings in the Classical Historians 1992 Contributor Edit Translating Latin Prose ARIEL A Review of International English Literature Vol 2 No 2 April 1971 Reprinted in Radice William and Barbara Reynolds 1987 The Translator s Art Essays in Honor of Betty Radice Harmondsworth Penguin pp 81 91 Foreword 1993 In Reprint of Liddell Hart B H Scipio Africanus Greater than Napoleon 1994 New York Da Capo Press pp v xi Entry Julius Caesar Review of the 1953 film In Carnes Mark C ed 1995 Past Imperfect History According to the Movies New York Henry Holt and Company Series A Society of American Historians Book pp 44 47 References Edit Professor Michael Grant Daily Telegraph 8 October 2004 Retrieved 26 August 2020 Michael Grant Obit The Times 13 October 2004 Martin Douglas Michael Grant Who Wrote Histories of the Ancient World Is Dead at 89 Obit The New York Times 25 October 2004 Michael Grant Obit The Times 13 October 2004 The Society s Medal The Royal Numismatic Society 23 May 2014 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Michael Grant classicist Translated Penguin Book at Penguin First Editions reference site of early first edition Penguin Books Academic officesPreceded byLord Ashby of Brandon President and Vice Chancellor of Queen s University Belfast1959 1966 Succeeded bySir Arthur VickProfessional and academic associationsPreceded byHumphrey Sutherland President of the Royal Numismatic Society1953 1956 Succeeded byChristopher Blunt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Grant classicist amp oldid 1150808933, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
