 | |
| Person | |
| William Craigie | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 13 August 1876 |
| Died | 2 September 1957 |
| Education | University of St Andrews University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Philologist Lexicographer Professor |
Sir William Alexander Craigie (1867 – 1957) was a philologist, lexicographer and Oxford professor. He was J.R.R. Tolkien's immediate predecessor as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1916 to 1925.
Biography
William Craigie was born in Dundee, Scotland and as a child developed a love for languages, particularly Scottish Gaelic. He enrolled at the University of St Andrews where he studied German, French, Danish and Icelandic. He was awarded a scholarship to study at Balliol College, Oxford where he began learning Celtic.[1]
In 1897, Craigie was the third editor hired to work on the Oxford English Dictionary.[1] He worked on N, Q, R, U, and V, Si–Sq, and Wo–Wy;[note 1] in total his work accounting for one-fifth of the original dictionary. He was Taylorian lecturer in the Scandinavian languages in 1904 before becoming Rawlinson and Bosworth professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1916 until his resignation in 1925.[2] After Craigie's resignation Tolkien applied for,[3] and held the position until 1945.[4]
External links
Notes
- ↑ Tolkien also worked on entries beginning with W.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Glenn Mills, "Sir William Alexander Craigie: A Man of Many Words" 3 September 2018, Museum of the University of St Andrews, accessed 25 February 2024
- ↑ A. J. Aitken, "Craigie, Sir William Alexander" 23 September 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 25 February 2024
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 7, (dated 27 June 1935)
- ↑ Tom Shippey, "Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel" 23 September 2004, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 25 February 2024