Autor: Basil L. Gildersleeve

Basil Lantagne Gildersleeve (October 23, 1831 – January 9, 1924) was an American classicist and scholar renowned for his contributions to the field of Greek and Latin literature, philology, and the study of classical languages. He was a significant intellectual figure in the post-Civil War United States. A Maryland native, Gildersleeve completed his undergraduate studies at Princeton and pursued further education in Germany at the universities of Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin. He was particularly influenced by the rigorous methodologies of German scholarship, which he later incorporated into his own academic work (Gildersleeve & Quinn, 1987). Returning to the United States, he served as a professor at the University of Virginia for nearly two decades before accepting a position at Johns Hopkins University, where he remained until his retirement. Gildersleeve was a Confederate supporter, and his experiences as a Civil War soldier deeply influenced his writing, including his reflection on Southern identity in „The Creed of the Old South 1865-1915“. His lifelong dedication to classical studies was evident in his editorial work for the „American Journal of Philology“, a publication he founded and used as a platform to elevate the standards of classical scholarship in America. Gildersleeve“s enduring impact is captured in the rigor of his scholarly work and the advancement of classical studies in the United States (Rogers, 2001).