Richmond Lattimore
| Richmond Lattimore | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
May 6, 1906 Paotingfu, Qing China |
| Died | February 26, 1984 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College, Christ Church, Oxford, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Occupation | professor |
| Known for | translations |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Bockstahler |
Richmond Alexander Lattimore (May 6, 1906 – February 26, 1984) was an American poet and classicist known for his translations of the Greek classics, especially his versions of the Iliad and Odyssey, which are generally considered as among the best English translations available.
Born to David and Margaret Barnes Lattimore in Paotingfu, China, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1926. His brother Owen Lattimore was a Sinologist who was blacklisted for his association with China during the McCarthy era, but subsequently rehabilitated when none of the charges against him proved to be true. Their sister Eleanor Frances Lattimore was an author and illustrator of children's books.
Richmond was a Rhodes Scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, and received his B.A. in 1932, then, under the direction of William Abbott Oldfather, received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1934. He joined the Department of Greek at Bryn Mawr College the following year, and married Alice Bockstahler, with whom he later had two sons, Steven and Alexander; Steven also became a classical scholar and professor at UCLA.
From 1943 to 1946, Lattimore was absent from his professorial post to serve in the United States Navy, but returned after the war to remain at Bryn Mawr College, with periodic visiting positions at other universities, until his retirement in 1971. He continued to publish poems and translations for the remainder of his life, with two poems appearing in print posthumously.
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