Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Summary

Andrew Frederic Wallace-Hadrill, OBE, FBA, FSA (born 29 July 1951) is a British ancient historian, classical archaeologist, and academic. He is Professor of Roman Studies and Director of Research in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge. He was Director of the British School at Rome between 1995 and 2009, and Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge from August 2009 to July 2013.

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
Born
Andrew Frederic Wallace-Hadrill

(1951-07-29) 29 July 1951 (age 72)
NationalityBritish
Academic background
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Oxford
ThesisSuetonius on the Emperor: Studies in the Representation of the Emperor in the Caesars (1980)
Academic work
DisciplineAncient history
Classical archaeology
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
University of Reading
British School at Rome
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

Early life edit

Wallace-Hadrill was born on 29 July 1951 in Oxford, England, the son of mediaeval historian John Michael Wallace-Hadrill. He was educated at the private Rugby School.[1] He studied at University of Oxford, where he read for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Classics at Corpus Christi College. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon). He went on to attain a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree at St John's College, University of Oxford.[2]

Academic career edit

Wallace-Hadrill's first academic position was Fellow of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge between 1976 and 1983. He was also the Director of Studies in Classics of the College during that time. He then lectured at the University of Leicester from 1983 till 1987. In 1987, he became Professor of Classics at the University of Reading until 2009.[2] Wallace-Hadrill was Director of the British School at Rome between 1995 and 2009. He was elected the 25th Master of Sidney Sussex College at the University of Cambridge, taking up office in August 2009 on the expiry by statute of Professor Dame Sandra Dawson's tenure.[3] In June 2012, it was announced that he would be standing down from the position of Master to concentrate his efforts on the Herculaneum Conservation Project. He stood down in 2013, and continued at Cambridge as Director of Research of the Faculty of Classics from 1 October 2012.[4] He now has the status of Emeritus Professor.

In 2004, in an interview on the Australian television programme 60 Minutes, Wallace-Hadrill aired his opinion about the neglect of the archaeological site of Pompeii. He was described as an "angry archaeologist" when he argued that the conservation issues that need to be acted upon urgently at Pompeii are being neglected and that the site is suffering from a "second death". Regarding the deterioration of Pompeii, he contends, "Man is wreaking a damage far greater than Vesuvius. The moment of Pompeii's destruction was also the moment of its preservation. The public needs to understand that unless constant efforts are taken to arrest the decay, the site will, within decades crumble to nothing."[5]

Television edit

Wallace-Hadrill has made three well-reviewed documentary programmes for BBC television. The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum, first screened in April 2013, was described by The Arts Desk as "a straightforward, lively but informative documentary of substance" on Herculaneum, a Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.[6] The two-parter, Building the Ancient City: Athens and Rome, was screened in August 2015, and showed how the building of Athens and Rome paralleled the development of democracy in those two cultures. Daisy Wyatt of The Independent said of it: "An exuberant Wallace-Hadrill made the...documentary watchable thanks to his passion for the subject. It was hard to feel anything but warmth for the antithesis of the typical Oxbridge academic presenter."[7]

Honours and awards edit

Selected works edit

  • Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars (Duckworth, 1983).[12]
  • City and Country in the Ancient World (New York, 1991), ed. with John Rich[13]
  • Augustan Rome (1993)[14]
  • Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum (Princeton, 1994).[15]
  • Suetonius (Duckworth, 1995).
  • Domestic Space in the Roman World: Pompeii and Beyond (1997), ed. with Ray Laurence[16]
  • Rome's Cultural Revolution (Cambridge, 2008)[17]
  • Herculaneum: Past and Future (Frances Lincoln, 2011).[18]

References edit

  1. ^ "WALLACE-HADRILL, Prof. Andrew Frederic", Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38699, ISBN 9781408142295
  2. ^ a b "College Fellows and Staff: Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill". Sidney Sussex College. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. ^ Dr David Beckingham. "Sidney elects a new Master". Sidney Sussex College.
  4. ^ "Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill". University of Cambridge. 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  5. ^ T. Hurley, P. Medcalf (et al.), Antiquity 3, Oxford University Press, Melbourne Victoria, 2005, p. 65
  6. ^ Güner, Fisun (2 April 2013). "The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum, BBC Two". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  7. ^ Wyatt, Daisy (20 August 2015). "Building the Ancient City: Athens, BBC2, TV review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  8. ^ Honorary Graduates of the University of Reading - website of the University of Reading
  9. ^ "WALLACE-HADRILL, Professor Andrew, OBE". British Academy Fellows. The British Academy. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  10. ^ "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 24.
  11. ^ "W". List of Fellows. The Society of Antiquaries of London. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  12. ^ Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars. Duckworth. 1983. OCLC 1052824064.
  13. ^ Rich, John, ed. (1991). City and Country in the Ancient World. New York. ISBN 0415082234.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew (1993). Augustan Rome. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 1853991384.
  15. ^ Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton University Press. 1994. ISBN 0691029091.
  16. ^ "Domestic Space in the Roman World: Pompeii and Beyond". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 22. 1997. ISBN 1887829229.
  17. ^ Rome's Cultural Revolution. Cambridge University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0521721608.
  18. ^ Herculaneum: Past and Future. Frances Lincoln. 2011. ISBN 9780711233898.

External links edit

  • Debrett's People of Today
  • "Herculaneum Uncovered – A conversation with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill" Archived 25 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Ideas Roadshow, 2013
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
August 2009 – July 2013
Succeeded by