Harry E. Wedeck

Born in Sheffield, England, Harry E. Wedeck was a British linguist, classical scholar, translator, and writer whose long career was largely based in New York. He chaired the department of classical languages at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn from 1935 to 1950, later taught classics at Brooklyn College until 1968, and then lectured on medieval studies at the New School for Social Research.

Alongside his teaching, he wrote and edited a wide range of books. His interests stretched from the ancient world to the occult, astrology, aphrodisiacs, and erotic literature, giving his bibliography an unusually broad and distinctive character. That mix of formal scholarship and adventurous subject matter helped make his work memorable.

Wedeck lived a remarkably long life, dying on July 8, 1996. For listeners and readers today, he stands out as an author who could treat both the classics and more eccentric topics with the same energy and curiosity.