Kenneth Dover
Encyclopedia
Sir Kenneth James Dover, FRSE
, FBA
(11 March 1920 – 7 March 2010) was a distinguished British
Classical scholar and academic, who was head of an Oxford college and from 1981 until his retirement in December 2005 was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
.
, the only child of Percy Dover and Dorothy Healey. He was educated at St Paul's School and Balliol College, Oxford
. He served with the Royal Artillery
during the Second World War and was mentioned in dispatches
for his service in Italy
.
After military service, Dover returned to Oxford and became Fellow
and tutor
at his old college in 1948. In 1955, Dover was appointed Professor
of Greek at the University of St Andrews
, and was twice Dean
of the university's Faculty of Arts
during his twenty-one years there.
He was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
in 1975. Dover received a knighthood two years later for services to Greek scholarship. In 1976, Dover became President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
, a post he held for ten years. During this tenure a fellow of the College, Trevor Henry Aston (1925–1985), who suffered from manic depression, committed suicide with pills and alcohol. In Marginal Comment, his autobiography, Dover wrote: "it was clear to me by now that Trevor and the college must somehow be separated. My problem was one which I feel compelled to define with brutal candour: how to kill him without getting into trouble...I had no qualms about causing the death of a fellow from whose nonexistence the college would benefit, but I balked at the prospect of misleading a coroner's jury...consulting a lawyer to see if [I] would be legally at risk if [I] ignored a suicide call."
In 1978, he was elected to the presidency of the British Academy
, of which he had been a Fellow since 1966, and served for a term of three years. During the 1980s, he also held positions at Cornell University
and Stanford University
.
Dover returned to St Andrews as the university's Chancellor
in 1981. He was the first Chancellor in the University's history to be neither a peer nor an archbishop. Dover stepped down from the position after twenty-five years of service, effective 31 December 2005.
s from the Universities of Oxford
, St Andrews
, Birmingham
, Bristol
, London
, Durham
, Liverpool
, and Oglethorpe
.
He was also a foreign member of the American
and the Royal Netherlands
Academies of Arts and Sciences.
in the 1970s and 80s he was impressive for being able to greet all Corpuscles by name, without ever having previously met them. He achieved this by studying photographs and admitted to having occasional problems identifying new students when beards were in fashion.
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, FBA
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(11 March 1920 – 7 March 2010) was a distinguished British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Classical scholar and academic, who was head of an Oxford college and from 1981 until his retirement in December 2005 was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
The Chancellor is the titular head of the University of St Andrews. His duties include conferring degrees, promoting the University’s image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland and beyond....
.
Life
Kenneth Dover was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the only child of Percy Dover and Dorothy Healey. He was educated at St Paul's School and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He served with the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
during the Second World War and was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
for his service in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
After military service, Dover returned to Oxford and became Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
and tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
at his old college in 1948. In 1955, Dover was appointed Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Greek at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, and was twice Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the university's Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts was one of the four traditional divisions of the teaching bodies of medieval universities, the others being Theology, Law and Medicine...
during his twenty-one years there.
He was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
in 1975. Dover received a knighthood two years later for services to Greek scholarship. In 1976, Dover became President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
, a post he held for ten years. During this tenure a fellow of the College, Trevor Henry Aston (1925–1985), who suffered from manic depression, committed suicide with pills and alcohol. In Marginal Comment, his autobiography, Dover wrote: "it was clear to me by now that Trevor and the college must somehow be separated. My problem was one which I feel compelled to define with brutal candour: how to kill him without getting into trouble...I had no qualms about causing the death of a fellow from whose nonexistence the college would benefit, but I balked at the prospect of misleading a coroner's jury...consulting a lawyer to see if [I] would be legally at risk if [I] ignored a suicide call."
In 1978, he was elected to the presidency of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, of which he had been a Fellow since 1966, and served for a term of three years. During the 1980s, he also held positions at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Dover returned to St Andrews as the university's Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
in 1981. He was the first Chancellor in the University's history to be neither a peer nor an archbishop. Dover stepped down from the position after twenty-five years of service, effective 31 December 2005.
Honorary degrees
Dover received honorary degreeHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s from the Universities of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
, London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, and Oglethorpe
Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe University is a private liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, an inner suburb of Atlanta. It was chartered in 1835 and named after James Edward Oglethorpe, the state's founder.-History:...
.
He was also a foreign member of the American
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and the Royal Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
Academies of Arts and Sciences.
Hobbies
Beyond his academic honours and pursuits, Dover was well known for his skill and devotion to bird watching and was considered one of Britain's finest birders. As president of Corpus Christi College, OxfordCorpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
in the 1970s and 80s he was impressive for being able to greet all Corpuscles by name, without ever having previously met them. He achieved this by studying photographs and admitted to having occasional problems identifying new students when beards were in fashion.
Media appearances
- Dover featured in an edition of the BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme "In the Psychiatrist's Chair", presented by Anthony ClareAnthony ClareAnthony Ward Clare was an Irish psychiatrist well known in the UK and Ireland as a presenter of radio and TV programmes.-Career:...
. - He featured in a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television series "The Greeks", presented by Christopher Burstall.
Family
Dover resided in St Andrews, Fife, where he and his family have had a home since around 1960. He married Audrey Latimer in March 1947; Lady Dover died in December 2009 after 62 years of marriage. Dover died on 7 March 2010, survived by a son and daughter.Selected works
- Greek Homosexuality (1978)
- The Greeks
- The Greeks and their Legacy (1989)
- Ancient Greek Literature (OPUS)
- Aristophanic Comedy (1972)
- Greek Popular Morality in the Time of Plato and Aristotle (1974)
- Theocritus: Select Poems (editor)
- Greek Word Order (1960)
- Thucydides: Book VI (BCP Greek Texts) (editor)
- Aristophanes: Clouds (editor)
- Thucydides, (Greece & Rome)
- Lysias and the Corpus Lysiacum
- The Evolution of Greek Prose Style
- Marginal Comment: a memoir, London, Duckworth, 1994. ISBN 0715626302
- Thucydides VI & VII (2 vols.) (editor)
- Greek and the Greeks: Collected Papers; language, poetry, drama
- Aristophanes: Frogs (editor)
- Cicero: Cato Maior de Senectute (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries) (editor with J. G. F. Powell)
- Plato: Symposium (Cambridge Greek Classics) (editor)
- Thucydides' Historical Judgment: Athens and Sicily (Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C, Archaeology, Celtic Studies, history, linguistics, literature)