Colin Hardie

Colin Graham Hardie (16 February 1906 – 17 October 1998) was a British classicist and academic. From 1933 to 1936, he was Director of the British School at Rome. From 1936 to 1973, he was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and a tutor in classics. In addition, from 1967 to 1973, he was the Public Orator of the University of Oxford. He was a member of the Inklings, an informal literary discussion group which included the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

Hardie was born on 16 February 1906 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the third son of William Ross Hardie and his wife Isabella Watt Hardie (née Stevenson). His father was a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, and Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, an independent school. He then went on to study at Balliol College, University of Oxford as a Warner Exhibitioner and Honorary Scholar. He took firsts in both Mods (1926) and Greats (1928). He won four classical prizes during his undergraduate studies; Ireland Scholar and Craven Scholar in 1925, Hertford Scholar in 1926 and the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose in 1927. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1928, which was promoted to Master of Arts (MA) in 1931.