Arthur Fairbanks

author

Arthur Fairbanks

1864–1944

A leading American classicist and museum director, he helped shape how ancient Greek art was studied and presented in the United States. His work joined careful scholarship with a talent for bringing the ancient world closer to modern readers.

1 Audiobook

The first philosophers of Greece : An edition and translation of the remaining fragments of the pre-Sokratic philosophers, together with a translation of the more important accounts of their opinions contained in the early epitomes of their works

The first philosophers of Greece : An edition and translation of the remaining fragments of the pre-Sokratic philosophers, together with a translation of the more important accounts of their opinions contained in the early epitomes of their works

by Arthur Fairbanks

About the author

Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1864, Arthur Fairbanks became a respected scholar of classical art and archaeology. He studied at Dartmouth College, attended Union Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School, and later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg in Germany.

Fairbanks taught Greek and archaeology at the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan before taking on major museum work in Boston. He served as curator of classical art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and from 1908 to 1925 he was the museum's director, a role that made him an important figure in American museum life.

He is especially remembered for his writing on Greek art, religion, and literature, including books that helped introduce classical subjects to a wider audience. Fairbanks died in 1944, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both deep learning and a lasting enthusiasm for the ancient world.