Edward Capps

Capps was born in Jacksonville, Illinois on December 21, 1866.{{cite EB1922 |wstitle=Capps, Edward |volume=30 |page=578}} He would go on to graduate from Illinois College in 1887 and later receive a PhD from Yale in 1891. In July of the following year, he would get married.{{Cite web|last=Calder III|first=William M.|title=CAPPS, Edward|url=https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/8593-capps-edward|access-date=2021-05-05|website=dbcs.rutgers.edu}}

In 1890 Capps was appointed tutor at Yale. In 1892 he joined the faculty of the newly founded University of Chicago as professor of Greek language and literature, remaining so until 1907. In 1903 he was special lecturer at Harvard, and during the next two years studied at Athens and Halle. During 1906–7 he was managing editor of Classical Philology, in 1907 was elected president of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.

Capps began teaching at Princeton in 1907, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1936.{{Cite news|date=1950-08-22|title=DR. EDWARD CAPPS, CLASSICIST, IS DEAD; Retired Princeton Professor, Ex-Minister to Greece, Was a Founder of Athens College|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/08/22/archives/dr-edward-capps-classicist-is-dead-retired-princeton-professor.html|access-date=2021-05-05|issn=0362-4331}} As a scholar he was noted for his productivity and received praises from individuals such as Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff for his work on classical philology. He also had a notable friendship with President Woodrow Wilson, which helped him gain international prominence, aided even more so by his role as the editor of the first volumes of the Loeb Classical Library.{{Cite book|last=Association|first=American Philological|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8-uLxAnngUC&q=capps|title=Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists|date=1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-24560-2|language=en}}

Capps would also make a name for himself serving on the managing committee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) from 1908 to 1950, during which he acted as chair between 1919 and 1939. During his time as chair, ASCSA would purchase the Gennadius Library and the Athenian Agora. He would also personally chair the excavation project of the agora, negotiating the process on behalf of the school and attaining additional funds.{{Cite news|date=1928-03-01|title=EXCAVATION AT ATHENS SEEN NEAR BY CAPPS; Director of Agora Project Says Negotiations Will Be Completed in a Few Months.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/03/01/archives/excavation-at-athens-seen-near-by-capps-director-of-agora-project.html|access-date=2021-05-06|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite journal|title=Mutually Antagonistic Philhellenes|url=https://www.academia.edu/6850959|journal=Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens|year=2013 |language=en|volume=82|issue=1|pages=67–99|doi=10.2972/hesperia.82.1.0067|s2cid=164414874 |issn=0018-098X}} These efforts saw the school's endowment increase significantly and earned Capps the nickname of the 'second founder' of the school.{{Cite web|title=About Edward Capps {{!}} American School of Classical Studies at Athens|url=https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/news/newsDetails/about-edward-capps|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.ascsa.edu.gr}}

Capps also served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to both Greece and Montenegro on behalf of the United States in 1920 at the behest of his friend President Wilson.{{Cite web|title=Edward Capps - People - Department History - Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/capps-edward|access-date=2021-05-05|website=history.state.gov}} He was elected to the American Philosophical Society that same year.{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Edward+Capps&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}

During the fallout of the Greco-Turkish War, Capps would make a name for himself as a humanitarian by aiding the Greek refugees. Using his position as the American Red Cross Commissioner to Greece and his rank as a colonel, his efforts would see success and result in the Greek government awarding him both the Order of the Redeemer and the Medal of Military Merit.{{Cite web|date=1920-01-01|title=American Professor in Greece. Col. Edward Capps, American Red Cross Commissioner to Greece. In everyday life, Col. Capps is Professor of Greek literature at Princeton. The Greek government has recently awarded him the "Order of the Redeemer" and the medal of Military Merit for his humanitarian work among the Greek people, particularly the Greek refugees, in the Macedonian district, during the post armistice period|url=https://picryl.com/media/american-professor-in-greece-col-edward-capps-american-red-cross-commissioner-5e42ac|access-date=2021-05-06|website=Library of Congress|language=en}}

Capps died on August 21, 1950, in Princeton, New Jersey.

In honor of his contributions to the school, the ASCSA built the Edward Capps Belvedere overlooking the Athenian Agora from the Agoraios Kolonos and launched the Edward Capps Society to honor individuals who provide for the future of the school.{{Cite web|title=Overview: The Archaeological Site|url=http://www.agathe.gr/overview/the_archaeological_site.html|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.agathe.gr}}

Capps's alma mater of Illinois College would also honor his legacy by establishing the 'Edward Capps Professorship of Humanities.'{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Capo named to endowed professorship {{!}} Illinois College|url=https://www.ic.edu/news/10-6-2020/capo-named-endowed-professorship|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.ic.edu|language=en}}

Capps's daughter Priscilla Capps Hill was director of Near East Industries in Athens, and longtime supporter of ASCSA. His son, Edward Capps Jr. taught art history at Oberlin College.{{Cite web|last=Sorensen|first=Lee|date=2018-02-21|title=Capps, Edward, Jr.|url=https://arthistorians.info/cappse|access-date=2021-05-07|website=Dictionary of Art Historians|language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Capps%2C%20Edward%2C%201866%2D1950 List of books] published by Capps

{{US Ambassadors to Greece}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capps, Edward}}

Category:1866 births

Category:1950 deaths

Category:People from Jacksonville, Illinois

Category:Academics from Illinois

Category:Illinois College alumni

Category:Yale University alumni

Category:Princeton University faculty

Category:American classical philologists

Category:American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Greece

Category:American Red Cross personnel

Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society

Category:Presidents of the American Association of University Professors