Robert O. Fink
Encyclopedia
Robert Orwill Fink was a papyrologist with a special interest in Roman military papyri.

Early life and education

The son of Orwill Clarkson Fink and Carlista Andrews Fink, Robert Fink attended Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

, where he earned his bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1930. After completing a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree 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...

 in 1931, he went on to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, where he studied under Michael Rostovtzeff
Michael Rostovtzeff
Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev was one of the 20th century's foremost authorities on ancient Greek, Iranian, and Roman history....

, under whose direction he completed his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in 1934 with a thesis on "Roman military accounts and records." He married Ruth Kuersteiner on 11 June 1935.

Academic career

In 1931, Fink was appointed instructor in Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...

 at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 and remained there until 1941, when he was appointed assistant professor of Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...

 at Russell Sage College
Russell Sage College
Russell Sage College is a women's college located in Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. It is one of the three colleges that make up The Sage Colleges...

 for Women. In 1942, he accepted an appointment at Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...

, where he was promoted to associate professor. In 1946, he moved to Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

, where he rose to the rank of 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 classics.

In 1958, Kenyon College named him Euman Dempsey Professor of Classics. While at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

, he was named a Fulbright Scholar for research in Italy in 1956-1957 and the American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...

 awarded him a Research Fellowship in 1963-1964. In 1966, the State University of New York at Albany appointed him professor of Classics. On his retirement in 1976 he returned to his former residence in Gambier, Ohio
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....

 near Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

.

Published works

Books
  • The Feriale Duranum with A. S. Hoey and W. F. Snyder, (YCS, 1940)

  • The Excavations at Dura-Europas. Final Report V, Part 1: The Parchment
    Parchment
    Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...

    s and Papyri  with C. B. Wells and J. F. Gilliam. (1959)

  • Roman Military Records on Papyrus
    Papyrus
    Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....

     (APA Monograph, no. 26, 1971).


Articles
  • "Jerash
    Jerash
    Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity, is the capital and largest city of Jerash Governorate , which is situated in the north of Jordan, north of the capital Amman towards Syria...

     in the First century A.D.," JRS, 23 (1933),, pp. 109–124.

  • "Lucius Seius Caesar", Socer Augusti, AJP, 60 (1939), pp. 326–332.

  • "The Sponsalia of Classiarius: A Reinterpretation of P. Mich. Inv. 4703
    University of Michigan Papyrus Collection
    The Papyrology Collection of the University of Michigan Library is an internationally respected collection of ancient papyrus and a center for research on ancient culture, language, and history...

    ", TAPA, 72 (1941), pp. 109–124.

  • "Mommsen's Pridianum B.G.U. 696", AJP, 63 (1942), pp. 61–71.

  • "A Fragment of Roman Military Papyrus at Princeton", TAPA, 84 (1945), pp. 271–278.

  • "The Cohors XX Palmyrenorum, a Cohors Equitata Milaria", TAPA, 78 (1947), pp. 159–170.

  • "Infinitives Don't Have Tense", The Classical Journal, 48 (1952–53), pp. 34–36.

  • "Centuria Rufi, Centuria Rufiana, and the Ranking of Centuries", TAPA, 84 (1953), pp. 210–215.

  • "Catullus 64, 109", AJP, 84 (1963), pp. 72–74.

  • "M. Aurelius Atho Marcellus", AJP, 88 (1967), pp. 84–85.

  • "A Long Vowel before Final M in Latin?", AJP, 90 (1969), pp. 444–452.

Sources

  • William E. McCulloch, "In Memoriam Robert O. Fink", The Classical Journal, vol. 85, No. 1 (Oct-Nov 1989), p. 84

  • Woodall, "Fink, Robert Orwill (1905-1988)" in Ward W. Briggs, ed., Biographical Dictionary of American Classicists, (1994), pp. 176–78.
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