William Hailey Willis

William Hailey Willis (April 29, 1916, Meridian, Mississippi – July 13, 2000, Durham, North Carolina)[1] was an American classicist and a leading twentieth century papyrologist.[2][3]

Early life

Willis was the son of William W. Willis and Clara B. (Hailey) Willis.[4] He married Rachel E. (Hamilton) Willis on December 20, 1943, in Meridian, MS.[5]

Scholarly career

Willis was educated at Mississippi College (B.A.), Columbia University (M.A.), and Yale University (Ph.D.).[6] Willis was a professor of Classics at the University of Mississippi from 1946 until 1963, when he relocated to Duke University.[7] Willis' decision to change institutions in 1963 was related, in part, to the strife that surrounded racial integration at the University of Mississippi, a cause that he had both supported and advanced.[8] In 1973 Willis served as president of the American Philological Association.[9] He was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1980.[10][11][12]

Willis' scholarly career included extensive work on papyrology and he published numerous papers dealing with ancient papyri.[13][14][15]

He was instrumental in advancing the efforts of the papyrus research center, Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, at Duke.[16] He was credited with producing an electronic edition of the Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri that was disseminated on CD-ROM by the Packard Humanities Institute.[16] At Duke Willis also served as editor of the journal Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies.[17]

Scholarship

Necrology

References

  1. James David Tillman (1963). Tillman & Hamilton Family Records: With Their Many Ancestral Lineages.
  2. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Willis-1709
  3. Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists Volume 22, Issue 1-4: Classical Studies Presented to William Hailey Willis on the Occasion of his Retirement from Duke University, pp. vii Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0599796.0022.001:01
  4. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Willis-1709
  5. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Willis-1709
  6. History of the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi: Mid-20th century http://classics.olemiss.edu/history/mid-20th-century/
  7. Classical studies presented to William Hailey Willis: on the occasion of his retirement from Duke University. American Society of Papyrologists. 1985.
  8. History of the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi: Mid-20th century http://classics.olemiss.edu/history/mid-20th-century/
  9. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. Association. 1973.
  10. http://awardsandwinners.com/winner/?mid=/m/0zs4hxs&name=william-h.-willis
  11. List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1980
  12. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: WILLIAM H. WILLIS Fellow: Awarded 1980 Field of Study: Classics Competition: US & Canada http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/william-h-willis/
  13. William Hailey Willis (1968). A Census of the Literary Papyri from Egypt.
  14. William Hailey Willis (1958). Greek Literary Papyri from Egypt and the Classical Canon. Harvard University Library.
  15. William Hailey Willis (1961). The New Collections of Papyri at the University of Mississippi. Stephen Austin & Sons.
  16. 1 2 Adam Bülow-Jacobsen (1 January 1994). Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Papyrologists, Copenhagen, 23-29 August, 1992. Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 628–. ISBN 978-87-7289-264-1.
  17. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies http://grbs.library.duke.edu/
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