D1037 - Walbank, Professor Frank W. - 1880-2009

This extensive collection of papers of Frank W. Walbank largely cover his academic career as a classical history professor and as an author. The large series of lecture notes, manuscripts & drafts and essays & reviews relate to publications and teaching and provide an insight into the working method...

Full description

Main Creator: Walbank, Frank
Archive level description: Sub-sub fonds
Physical Description:31 boxes; 9 oversize folders
Languages:English
Subjects:
Hellenistic culture and society
Classics
Roman History
Greek History
Summary:This extensive collection of papers of Frank W. Walbank largely cover his academic career as a classical history professor and as an author. The large series of lecture notes, manuscripts & drafts and essays & reviews relate to publications and teaching and provide an insight into the working methods of Walbank. There are extensive series' of correspondence and references & reports with various students and academics which relate to Walbank's role as a lecturer and published author. A series of papers relating to international travel outlines academic lectures given and attended as well as recreational travel. Although the material largely relates to Walbank's professional career there is a small series of personal correspondence and personal papers.
Date:1880-2009
Reference Number:D1037
Accruals:No future accruals are expected.
Access Conditions:Some material in this collection is closed access.
Arrangement:

In some cases series have been identified by the Walbank family and these have been retained. The papers have been arranged as follows:

  • D1037/1- Personal papers
  • D1037/2- Professional papers
Custodial History:Prior to their deposit here at the University of Liverpool the papers of Frank W. Walbank were in the posession of the Walbank family.
Finding Aids:There is a more detailed catalogue by Emilio Zucchetti (undertaken as part of PhD research in summer 2019) available on request.
Access Restrictions:Reproduction and Licensing Rules available on request.
Bibliography:[Book] Walbank, Frank William, A Historical Commentary on Polybius volume 1-3, Clarendon Press, 1957-1979.
Biographical/Administrative Information:

Frank W. Walbank was born on 10 December 1909 in Bingley, Yorkshire. His education began with a scholarship to Bradford Grammar School which led onto his attendance at Peterhouse, the oldest of the colleges at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1931 and Masters of Arts in 1935. In 1984, Walbank became an honourary fellow of Peterhouse. During his second year at university, in 1930, he won a place on the Hellenic Travellers Cruise to Greece which began a long established career involving international travel. Walbank later travelled all over the world to attend and give lectures as well as to holiday with his family to destinations including Russia, Albania, Greece, Egypt and Israel.

In 1935 Frank Walbank married Mary Woodward Fox and had three children, Dorothy, Elizabeth and Christopher. They lived for much of their lives in Oxton, Wirral before moving to Cambridge in the early 1980's.

Frank Walbank spend the most part of his career at the University of Liverpool as a Classics Professor. He was a lecturer of Latin from 1934-1951, Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archeology from 1951-1977 and Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1974-1977. In 1971 Walbank was awarded the Sather Professorship at the University of California, Berkley. At age 43, in 1953, he was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy and then became a member of the German Archeological Institute and the Royal Netherlands Academy. He was also awarded honorary membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Israeli Society for the promotion of Classical Studies. His later awards included an honorary degree from the University of Exeter in 1988 and was appointed as Commander of the British Empire in 1992. In addition to his highly regarded status, Frank Walbank was also a well established academic writer and published extensive award winning works on the history and historiography of the ancient world and the Hellenistic period. Some of his key publications include Aratos of Sicyon (1933), The Decline of the Roman Empire in the West (1946) and Historical Commentary on Polybius, volumes 1-3 (1957, 1967, 1979).

Frank Walbank retired from the University of Liverpool in 1977 and this enabled him to continue his international travel. Mary Walbank passed away in 1987 and Frank Walbank died, aged 99, in 2008.

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