John Chadwick: Difference between revisions

John Chadwick
John Chadwick
Born	21 May 1920; Mortlake, Surrey, England
Died	24 November 1998 (aged 78)
Occupation(s)	Linguist, scholar
Academic background
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

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John Chadwick, FBA (21 May 1920 – 24 November 1998) was an English linguist and classical scholar who was most notable for the decipherment, with Michael Ventris, of Linear B.

Early life, education and wartime service

John Chadwick was born at 18 Christ Church Road, Mortlake, Surrey, on 21 May 1920, the younger son of Margaret Pamela (née Bray) and Fred Chadwick, civil servant.^[1] He was educated at St Paul's School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Chadwick volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1940 after completing the first year of his classics course at Cambridge. At first he served in the Mediterranean as an ordinary seaman aboard the light cruiser HMS Coventry and saw action when his ship was torpedoed by an Italian submarine and dive-bombed. In 1942 he was sent ashore at Alexandria for an interview by the Chief of Naval Intelligence and was immediately assigned to intelligence duties in Egypt and promoted to Temporary Sub Lieutenant in the RNVR. Thereafter he worked on Italian codes.^[2]^[3]^[4] Chadwick deduced from some R/T traffic meant to be handled at Bletchley Park that a British submarine had been sunk near Taranto.^[5]

In 1944, he was transferred to Bletchley Park ("Station X"), learned Japanese, and worked on reading the encoded messages sent by the Japanese naval representatives in Stockholm and Berlin.^[4]

After the end of the war in 1945, he returned to his studies at Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours in Classics Part II, with a distinction in his special subject, linguistics.^[4] While studying at Corpus Christi College, he attempted, with some of his fellow students, to use cryptographic methods to decipher the "Minoan Linear Script B". They were already aware at the time of the work of Michael Ventris. They stopped working actively on the problem owing to a lack of published data from inscriptions.^[4]

Career

In 1950 he published his first scholarly work, an edition of The Medical Works of Hippocrates, co-authored with his cousin, William Neville Mann, a distinguished physician.^[4]^[6] After finishing his degree, he joined the staff of the Oxford Latin Dictionary before beginning a Classics lectureship at Cambridge in 1952.^[4] In July that year he heard a radio broadcast by Michael Ventris about his work on Linear B and offered his help as "a mere philologist".^[1] The men began to collaborate on the progressive decipherment of Linear B, writing Documents in Mycenean Greek in 1956, following a controversial first paper three years earlier. Chadwick's philological ideas were applied to Ventris's initial theory that Linear B was an early form of Greek rather than another Mediterranean language.^[7]

After Ventris's death, Chadwick became the figurehead of the Linear B work, writing the accessible and popular book The Decipherment of Linear B in 1958 and revising Documents in Mycenaean Greek in 1978.^[1]

He retired in 1984, by which time he had become the fourth (and last) Perceval Maitland Laurence Reader in Classics at Cambridge. He continued his scholarship until his death, being an active member of several international societies and writing numerous popular and academic articles. He was also a Fellow of the British Academy^[8] and of Downing College, Cambridge.^[2]

Family

Chadwick married Joan Hill in 1947. They had one son, Camden Chadwick.^[2]^[1]

Publications

Ventris, Michael; Chadwick, John (1953). "Evidence for Greek Dialect in the Mycenaean Archives". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 73: 84–103. doi:10.2307/628239. JSTOR 628239. S2CID 163873642.
Chadwick, John (1958). The Decipherment of Linear B. Second edition (1990). Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-39830-4.
Chadwick, John (1976). The Mycenaean World. Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-29037-6.
Ventris, Michael; Chadwick, John (1956). Documents in Mycenaean Greek. Second edition (1974). Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-08558-6.

Decorations and awards

1992: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
1997: International Antonio Feltrinelli Prize

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Killen, J. T. (2004). "Chadwick, John (1920–1998), classical philologist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71369. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ ^a ^b ^c "John Chadwick, 1920–1998", The Guardian, 1998-12-03, page 22.
^ Peter Kornicki, Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan (London: Hurst & Co., 2021), pp. 87-88.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Life of John Chadwick : 1920 – 1998 : Classical Philologist, Lexicographer and Co-decipherer of Linear B" Archived 17 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University
^ John Chadwick A Biographical Fragment; 1942-5 in Action this Day edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine (2001, Bantam Press, London) pp 110–126. ISBN 0593 049101.
^ "William Neville Mann", Munk's Roll, Royal College of Physicians
^ Robinson, Andrew (2004). "Ventris, Michael George Francis (1922–1956), classical scholar and architect". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36640. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Killen, J. T.; Davies, Morpurgo (February 2015). "John Chadwick FBA (1920–1998): Extract from Proceedings of the British Academy obituary". British Academy Review. 115 (25). British Academy: 136–138. Retrieved 30 May 2016.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[:0-1] Killen, J. T. (2004). "Chadwick, John (1920–1998), classical philologist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71369. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[GUARDIANOBIT-2] "John Chadwick, 1920–1998", The Guardian, 1998-12-03, page 22.

[3] Peter Kornicki, Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan (London: Hurst & Co., 2021), pp. 87-88.

[CAMBRIDGE-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Life of John Chadwick : 1920 – 1998 : Classical Philologist, Lexicographer and Co-decipherer of Linear B" Archived 17 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University

[5] John Chadwick A Biographical Fragment; 1942-5 in Action this Day edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine (2001, Bantam Press, London) pp 110–126. ISBN 0593 049101.

[6] "William Neville Mann", Munk's Roll, Royal College of Physicians

[7] Robinson, Andrew (2004). "Ventris, Michael George Francis (1922–1956), classical scholar and architect". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36640. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[ba15-8] Killen, J. T.; Davies, Morpurgo (February 2015). "John Chadwick FBA (1920–1998): Extract from Proceedings of the British Academy obituary". British Academy Review. 115 (25). British Academy: 136–138. Retrieved 30 May 2016.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
-{{about|the linguist|the theologian|John White Chadwick}}
+{{EngvarB|date=January 2020}}
+{{Short description|English linguist and classical scholar who helped decipher Linear B}}
+{{about|the linguist|the American theologian|John White Chadwick|the British judge|John Chadwick (judge)}}
+{{infobox academic
+| name        = John Chadwick
+| image       = John Chadwick (1920–1998).png
+| birth_place = [[Mortlake]], [[Surrey]], England
+| birth_date  = {{birth date|1920|05|21|df=y}}
+| death_place =
+| death_date  = {{death date and age|1998|11|24|1920|05|21|df=y}}
+| alma_mater  = [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]]
+| occupation  = Linguist, scholar
+}}
+'''John Chadwick''', {{post-nominals|size=100%|FBA}} (21 May 1920 – 24 November 1998) was an English [[Linguistics|linguist]] and [[Classics|classical]] scholar who was most notable for the decipherment, with [[Michael Ventris]], of [[Linear B]].
+==Early life, education and wartime service==
-'''John Chadwick''', [[Fellow of the British Academy|FBA]] ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|æ|d|w|ɪ|k}}; 21 May 1920 &ndash; 24 November 1998) was an [[England|English]] [[Linguistics|linguist]] and [[Classics|classical]] scholar who, with [[Alice Kober]] and [[Michael Ventris]], was most notable for the decipherment of [[Linear B]].
+John Chadwick was born at 18 Christ Church Road, [[Mortlake]], [[Surrey]], on 21 May 1920, the younger son of Margaret Pamela  (''née'' Bray) and Fred Chadwick, civil servant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite ODNB |title=Chadwick, John (1920–1998), classical philologist |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-71369 |access-date=2022-09-24 |year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/71369|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |last1=Killen |first1=J. T. }}</ref> He was educated at [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] and [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]].
+Chadwick volunteered for the [[Royal Navy]] in 1940 after completing the first year of his classics course at Cambridge. At first he served in the Mediterranean as an ordinary seaman aboard the light cruiser [[HMS_Coventry_(D43)|HMS Coventry]] and saw action when his ship was torpedoed by an Italian submarine and dive-bombed. In 1942 he was sent ashore at [[Alexandria]] for an interview by the Chief of Naval Intelligence and was immediately assigned to intelligence duties in Egypt and promoted to Temporary Sub Lieutenant in the [[RNVR]]. Thereafter he worked on Italian codes.<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT">[https://linguistlist.org/issues/9/9-1719/ "John Chadwick, 1920–1998"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1998-12-03, page 22.</ref><ref>Peter Kornicki, ''Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan'' (London: Hurst & Co., 2021), pp. 87-88.</ref><ref name="CAMBRIDGE">[http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/research_groups_and_societies/mycenaean_epigraphy/decipherment/life_of_chadwick/ "Life of John Chadwick : 1920 – 1998 : Classical Philologist, Lexicographer and Co-decipherer of Linear B"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017230923/http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/research_groups_and_societies/mycenaean_epigraphy/decipherment/life_of_chadwick/ |url-status=dead|date=17 October 2010 }}, Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University</ref> Chadwick deduced from some R/T traffic meant to be handled at Bletchley Park that a British submarine had been sunk near [[Taranto]].<ref>John Chadwick ''A Biographical Fragment; 1942-5'' in ''Action this Day'' edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine (2001, [[Bantam Press]], London) pp 110–126. {{ISBN|0593 049101}}.</ref>
-==Early life and education==
-Chadwick was born in [[East Sheen]], [[Richmond-upon-Thames]], and educated at [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] and [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]].  He served as an officer in the [[Royal Navy]]'s Special Branch during the [[Second World War]].<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT">[http://linguistlist.org/issues/9/9-1719.html "John Chadwick, 1920–1998"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1998-12-03, page 22.</ref> In May 1942, he was transferred to intelligence duties at the naval base [[HMS Nile|HMS ''Nile'']] in [[Alexandria|Alexandria, Egypt]], and worked on breaking lower-level Italian naval codes.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE">[http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/research_groups_and_societies/mycenaean_epigraphy/decipherment/life_of_chadwick/ "Life of John Chadwick : 1920 - 1998 : Classical Philologist, Lexicographer and Co-decipherer of Linear B"], Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University</ref>
-Chadwick was working on Italian naval codes as an Able Seaman when, in September 1942, he was suddenly (and immediately) promoted to Temporary Sub-Lieutenant as the material was classed as “Officers Only”. His superior Commander Murray had exploded when told that Chadwick would need six months training in England before promotion. Chadwick deduced from some R/T traffic meant to be handled at Bletchley Park that a British submarine had been sunk near Taranto.<ref>John Chadwick ''A Biographical Fragment; 1942-5'' in ''Action this Day'' edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine (2001, [[Bantam Press]], London) pp 110–126. ISBN 0593 049101.</ref>
-In 1944, he was transferred to [[Bletchley Park]] (“Station X”), learned Japanese, and worked on reading the encoded messages sent by the Japanese naval representatives in [[Stockholm]] and [[Berlin]].<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/>
+In 1944, he was transferred to [[Bletchley Park]] ("Station X"), learned Japanese, and worked on reading the encoded messages sent by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese naval representatives]] in Stockholm and [[Berlin]].<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/>
-After the end of the war in 1945, he returned to his studies at Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours in Classics Part II, with a distinction in his special subject, linguistics.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/>
+After the end of the war in 1945, he returned to his studies at Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours in Classics Part II, with a distinction in his special subject, linguistics.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/> While studying at Corpus Christi College, he attempted, with some of his fellow students, to use cryptographic methods to decipher the "Minoan Linear Script B". They were already aware at the time of the work of [[Michael Ventris]]. They stopped working actively on the problem owing to a lack of published data from inscriptions.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/>
+==Career==
-While studying at Corpus Christi College, he attempted, with some of his fellow students, to use cryptographic methods to decipher the “Minoan Linear Script B”. They were already aware at the time of the work of [[Michael Ventris]]. They stopped working actively on the problem owing to a lack of published data from inscriptions.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/>
+In 1950 he published his first scholarly work, an edition of ''The Medical Works of Hippocrates'', co-authored with his cousin, William Neville Mann, a distinguished physician.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/><ref>[http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/5101 "William Neville Mann"], ''Munk's Roll'', [[Royal College of Physicians]]</ref> After finishing his degree, he joined the staff of the ''[[Oxford Latin Dictionary]]'' before beginning a Classics lectureship at Cambridge in 1952.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/> In July that year he heard a radio broadcast by Michael Ventris about his work on [[Linear B]] and offered his help as "a mere [[Philology|philologist]]".<ref name=":0" /> The men began to collaborate on the progressive decipherment of Linear B, writing ''Documents in Mycenean Greek'' in 1956, following a controversial first paper three years earlier. Chadwick's [[Philology|philological]] ideas were applied to Ventris's initial theory that Linear B was an early form of Greek rather than another Mediterranean language.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |title=Ventris, Michael George Francis (1922–1956), classical scholar and architect |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-36640 |access-date=2022-09-24 |year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/36640|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |last1=Robinson |first1=Andrew }}</ref>
+After Ventris's death, Chadwick became the figurehead of the Linear B work, writing the accessible and popular book ''The Decipherment of Linear B'' in 1958 and revising ''Documents in Mycenaean Greek'' in 1978.<ref name=":0" />
-In 1950 he published his first scholarly work, an edition of ''The Medical Works of Hippocrates'', co-authored with his cousin, William Neville Mann, a distinguished physician.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/><ref>[http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/5101 "William Neville Mann"], ''Munk's Roll'', [[Royal College of Physicians]]</ref>
-After finishing his degree, he joined the staff of the ''[[Oxford Latin Dictionary]]'' before beginning a Classics lectureship at Cambridge in 1952.<ref name="CAMBRIDGE"/> That year he began working with Ventris on the progressive decipherment of Linear B, the two writing ''Documents in Mycenean Greek'' in 1956, following a controversial first paper three years earlier. Chadwick's [[Philology|philological]] ideas were applied to Ventris's initial theory that Linear B was an early form of Greek rather than another Mediterranean language.
+He retired in 1984, by which time he had become the fourth (and last) [[Perceval Maitland Laurence]] Reader in Classics at Cambridge. He continued his scholarship until his death, being an active member of several international societies and writing numerous popular and academic articles. He was also a Fellow of the [[British Academy]]<ref name="ba15">{{cite journal | url=http://www.britac.ac.uk/review/25/ww2intelligence/john_chadwick.cfm | title=John Chadwick FBA (1920–1998): Extract from Proceedings of the British Academy obituary | journal=[[British Academy Review]] | first1=J. T. | last1=Killen | first2=Morpurgo | last2=Davies | volume=115 | pages=136–138 | number=25 | date=February 2015 | publisher=[[British Academy]] | access-date=30 May 2016 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and of [[Downing College, Cambridge]].<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT"/>
-After Ventris's death, Chadwick became the figurehead of the Linear B work, writing the accessible and popular book ''The Decipherment of Linear B'' in 1958 and revising ''Documents in Mycenean Greek'' in 1978.
-He retired in 1984, by which time he had become the fourth (and last) [[Perceval Maitland Laurence]] Reader in Classics at Cambridge. He continued his scholarship until his death, being an active member of several international societies and writing numerous popular and academic articles. He was also a Fellow of the [[British Academy]]<ref name="ba15">{{cite journal| url=http://www.britac.ac.uk/review/25/ww2intelligence/john_chadwick.cfm | title=John Chadwick FBA (1920–1998): Extract from Proceedings of the British Academy obituary | work=[[British Academy Review]] | first1=J. T. | last1=Killen | first2=Morpurgo | last2=Davies | volume=115 | pages=136–138 | number=25 | date=February 2015 | publisher=[[British Academy]] | accessdate=30 May 2016 }}</ref> and of [[Downing College, Cambridge]].<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT"/>
 ==Family==
-Chadwick married Joan Hill in 1947 and they had one son.<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT"/>
+Chadwick married Joan Hill in 1947. They had one son, Camden Chadwick.<ref name="GUARDIANOBIT"/><ref name=":0" />
 ==Publications==
-* {{cite journal | last1=Ventris | first1=Michael | authorlink1= Michael Ventris | last2=Chadwick | first2=John | date=1953 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/628239 | title=Evidence for Greek Dialect in the Mycenaean Archives | journal=[[The Journal of Hellenic Studies]] | volume=73 | pages=84–103 }}
+* {{cite journal | last1=Ventris | first1=Michael | author-link1= Michael Ventris | last2=Chadwick | first2=John |year=1953 | jstor=628239 | title=Evidence for Greek Dialect in the Mycenaean Archives | journal=[[The Journal of Hellenic Studies]] | volume=73 | pages=84–103 | doi=10.2307/628239 | s2cid=163873642 }}
-* {{cite book | last=Chadwick | first=John | title=The Decipherment of Linear B | publisher=Second edition (1990). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1958 | isbn=0-521-39830-4 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=TD8YAlh_XHwC&printsec=frontcover}}
+* {{cite book | last=Chadwick | first=John | title=The Decipherment of Linear B | publisher=Second edition (1990). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1958 | isbn=0-521-39830-4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TD8YAlh_XHwC}}
-* {{cite book | last=Chadwick | first=John | title=The Mycenaean World | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1976 | isbn=0-521-29037-6}}
+* {{cite book | last=Chadwick | first=John | title=The Mycenaean World | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1976 | isbn=0-521-29037-6 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad }}
-* {{cite book | last1=Ventris | first1=Michael | authorlink1= Michael Ventris | last2=Chadwick | first2=John | title=Documents in Mycenaean Greek | publisher=Second edition (1974). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1956 | isbn= 0-521-08558-6}}
+* {{cite book | last1=Ventris | first1=Michael | author-link1= Michael Ventris | last2=Chadwick | first2=John | title=Documents in Mycenaean Greek | url=https://archive.org/details/documentsinmycen0000vent | url-access=registration | publisher=Second edition (1974). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1956 | isbn= 0-521-08558-6}}
 ==Decorations and awards==
@@ Line 36: / Line 47: @@
 * [[Mycenaean language|Mycenaean Greek]], [[Mycenaean Greece]]
 * [[Michael Ventris]]
+==Further reading==
+===Obituaries of Chadwick===
+* {{cite journal|last1=Bennet|first1=John|author-link=John Bennet (archaeologist)|year=1999|volume=103|issue=3|title=John Chadwick, 1920–1998 |journal=[[American Journal of Archaeology]]|pages=521–523|doi=10.1086/AJS506972 |jstor=506972}}
+* {{cite journal|last1=Killen|first1=John|last2=Morpurgo Davies|first2=Anna|author-link2=Anna Morpurgo Davies|year=2002|title=John Chadwick (1920–1998)|journal=Proceedings of the British Academy|volume=115|pages=133–165| url=https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/681/115p133.pdf|access-date=2023-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203215855/https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/681/115p133.pdf|archive-date=2022-12-03}}
 ==References==
@@ Line 52: / Line 70: @@
 [[Category:English philologists]]
 [[Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London]]
-[[Category:People associated with Bletchley Park]]
+[[Category:Bletchley Park people]]
 [[Category:Scholars of Mycenaean Greek]]
 [[Category:Hellenic epigraphers]]
@@ Line 61: / Line 79: @@
 [[Category:Classical philologists]]
 [[Category:Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics]]
+[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]]
+[[Category:Contributors to the Oxford Classical Dictionary]]
+[[Category:Linear B]]

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