author
Tenney Frank
1876–1939
A leading American historian of ancient Rome, he wrote with unusual clarity about Roman politics, literature, and everyday economic life. His books helped make the ancient world feel concrete and human for generations of readers.
2 Audiobooks
Vergil: A Biography
by Tenney Frank
Life and literature in the Roman republic
by Tenney Frank
About the author
Born in Kansas in 1876, Tenney Frank became one of the most respected American classicists of his time. He studied at the University of Kansas and earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago before teaching at Bryn Mawr College and later at Johns Hopkins University.
Frank was known for bringing Roman history down to earth. Rather than treating Rome as a distant legend, he explored its economy, empire, population, and inscriptions, and he wrote influential books including An Economic History of Rome, A History of Rome, and Vergil: A Biography. He also played an important editorial role at the American Journal of Philology.
His reputation reached well beyond the United States: he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and served as the first American classicist to hold Oxford's Eastman Professorship. He died in Oxford in 1939, leaving behind scholarship that is still remembered for its range, energy, and readable style.