author
Samuel Grant Oliphant
1864–1936
A lively scholar of Greek, Sanskrit, and philology, he wrote books that moved easily between classical learning and popular curiosity. His work ranges from serious studies of ancient language and folklore to a brisk collection of questions and answers for general readers.
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About the author
Born in 1864, Samuel Grant Oliphant was an American classics scholar and teacher whose career centered on Greek, Sanskrit, and philology. Library and archival records describe him as a professor who studied at Princeton University and later earned a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, where he also pursued advanced work in classics and Sanskrit.
Oliphant taught at several colleges, including Washington and Jefferson College, Parsons College, and Grove City College. Johns Hopkins materials note that he became professor of Greek and Sanskrit at Grove City College in 1911, and that his scholarly interests included classical literature, language, and folklore.
He also wrote for wider audiences. Surviving listings of his books include Magic and Folk-lore in Plautus and Terence, Scholia, A Study of the Vedic Dual, The Clan of Fire and Forge, and the more playful Queer Questions and Ready Replies. He died in 1936, leaving behind a body of work that shows both deep scholarship and a taste for making knowledge engaging.