author
Benjamin Ide Wheeler
1854–1927
A leading classical scholar who helped turn the University of California into a major modern institution, he brought both academic rigor and public ambition to higher education. His life joined deep work in language and literature with decades of influential university leadership.
1 Audiobook
Introduction to the study of the history of language
by Herbert A. (Herbert Augustus) Strong, Willem Sijbrand Logeman, Benjamin Ide Wheeler
About the author
Born in Randolph, Massachusetts, on July 15, 1854, Benjamin Ide Wheeler studied at Brown University and later continued his education in Germany. He became known as a scholar of Greek and comparative philology, teaching at Brown, Harvard, and Cornell before taking on a larger public role.
In 1899, he became president of the University of California, a position he held until 1919. During those years, the university expanded significantly and strengthened its reputation for serious scholarship, and his name later became closely associated with Berkeley through Wheeler Hall.
Wheeler was also a writer whose work ranged across classics, language, and history. He died in 1927, and he is remembered both as an important American philologist and as one of the key figures in shaping the early identity of the University of California.