
author
1834–1913
An influential Victorian classicist, he is best remembered for bringing Roman poets vividly back into view through careful editing, translation, and commentary. His work on Catullus helped shape how generations of English readers and students encountered Latin literature.

by Gaius Valerius Catullus, Robinson Ellis
Born on September 5, 1834, Robinson Ellis was an English classical scholar who became one of the leading Latinists of his time. He studied at Balliol College, Oxford, and went on to build a long academic career centered on the close study of ancient texts.
He is especially associated with Catullus, the Roman poet whose work he edited, translated, and explained in detail. Ellis also worked on other Latin authors, and his scholarship was known for its precision, depth, and lasting usefulness to students of classical literature.
Ellis died on October 9, 1913. Though modern readers may not know his name as readily as the poets he studied, his editions and commentaries played an important part in preserving and interpreting Latin poetry for later generations.