Tucker, Thomas G.

Description

Agent TypePersonPlace of BirthBurnham, Buckinghamshire, EnglandPlace of DeathStope Cove, Devon, EnglandActivities & OccupationsAcademics - ClassicsGenderMaleHistoryThomas George Tucker (1859-1946), classical scholar, was born on 29 March 1859 at Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England. He was educated at Northampton Grammar School, the Royal Grammar School at Lancaster and at St John's College, Cambridge (B.A., 1882; M.A., 1885; Litt.D., 1890), where he was Brown's medallist (1879, 1880), Craven scholar (1881), senior classic and chancellor's medallist and fellow (1882). Plagued by bronchitis, he travelled abroad and in 1883 became founding professor of classics and English at the new Auckland University College, New Zealand.
In 1885 Tucker was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Melbourne after the resignation of Herbert Strong. His inaugural lecture on 'The place of the classics in a liberal education' prompted much discussion. In 1890, his critical edition of "Supplices" by Aeschylus won for him the degree of Doctor of Letters from Cambridge. In 1892 Tucker represented Melbourne at the tercentenary of the University of Dublin and received an honorary D.Litt. He served as president of the professorial board (1902) and dean of the faculty of arts (1904-13). He was a trustee of the Public Library, museums and National Gallery of Victoria. Appearing before the royal commission on the University of Melbourne in 1902, Tucker gave evidence which provided a valuable record of his views on education. The university faced a financial crisis through embezzlement by its accountant and, when the chair of modern languages became frozen on Edward Morris's death, Tucker undertook an honorary lectureship in English for almost two years.
Tucker's literary output was prodigious. In classical scholarship his reputation rested securely on his editions and commentaries on Aeschylus: Supplices (1889), Choephori (1901), Seven Against Thebes (1908). Prometheus Bound and Persians were published in 1935. He also produced works on Thucydides's Book VIII (1892), Aristotle's Poetics (1899), Plato's Republic (1900) and Aristophanes's Frogs (1906), while his elegant lecture on Sappho (1914) enjoyed an extraordinary vogue. Among Tucker's general works were Life in Ancient Athens (1907) and Life in the Roman World of Nero and St Paul (1910); his lively and imaginative Latin grammar (1907) was often reprinted.
In 1919 Tucker retired, as emeritus professor. Next year he was appointed C.M.G.; family tradition maintains that he declined a knighthood. For reasons of health, he lived in Sydney, but retained contact with university life, filling in for Professors William Woodhouse and John Michie at the universities of Sydney and Queensland. George Robertson, of Angus & Robertson, employed him, among other literary advisers, to read manuscripts and 'lick them into shape' for publication. Tucker died at Stope Cove, Devon, England, on 24 January 1946.Search records of this agent

Dates

Date29/03/1859-24/01/1946

Names

Given NameThomasMiddle NameGeorgeFamily NameTucker

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Tucker, Thomas G.