Nan Dunbar
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}{{Short description|British classics academic (1928–2005)}}
{{Infobox academic
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|image=
|birth_date={{birth date|df=y|1928|7|18}}
|birth_place=Glasgow
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|2005|4|3|1928|7|18}}
|death_place=Oxford
|nationality=
|occupation=
|spouse=
|alma_mater=Glasgow University
Girton College, Cambridge
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|discipline=Classics
|sub_discipline = Greek Literature
|workplaces={{plain list|
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|notable_works= Aristophanes: Birds (ed. 1995)}}
Nan Dunbar (18 July 1928 – 3 April 2005) was Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Somerville College, Oxford. She is known for her 1995 edition of Aristophanes' The Birds.
Early life and education
Dunbar was born in Glasgow in 1928, where she attended Hutcheson's Girls School. She was the first in her family to attend university, graduating from the University of Glasgow with a first class honours degree and numerous awards including 'Most Distinguished Arts Graduate' in 1950.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/nan-dunbar-1-711166|title=Nan Dunbar|website=The Scotsman|access-date=22 January 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/greece/nan-dunbar-5g9r6ll9jj6|title=Nan Dunbar|last=3 April 2005|first=18 July 1928–|date=6 May 2005|work=The Times|access-date=22 January 2019|issn=0140-0460}} She then went on to study at Girton College, Cambridge, where she completed a second degree, achieving a first in both part of the Classical tripos.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nan-dunbar-495769.html|title=Nan Dunbar|date=21 April 2005|website=The Independent|access-date=23 January 2019}}
Career
Dunbar was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Edinburgh in 1952.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1490597/Nan-Dunbar.html|title=Nan Dunbar|journal=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 May 2005|access-date=23 January 2019|issn=0307-1235}} Subsequently, she returned to Girton College, Cambridge, where she was a fellow and lecturer in Classics from 1952 to 1957.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1490597/Nan-Dunbar.html|title=Nan Dunbar|journal=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 May 2005|access-date=23 January 2019|issn=0307-1235}} In 1957 she moved to the University of St Andrews, and in 1965 became a fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.
At Somerville, she was heavily involved with the running of the college, acting as the tutor for admissions and the steward of the college chapel, serving on the finance committee, and holding the office of Vice-Principal from 1983 until 1985.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1490597/Nan-Dunbar.html|title=Nan Dunbar|journal=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 May 2005|access-date=23 January 2019|issn=0307-1235}} A portrait of her, bequeathed by her husband, is in the Somerville College Library.{{Cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/nan-dunbar-former-president-of-the-senior-common-room-scr-223486|title=Nan Dunbar, Former President of the Senior Common Room (SCR) {{!}} Art UK|website=artuk.org|access-date=22 January 2019}} Somerville College also planted a Himalayan birch in its gardens in honour of Dunbar.
Edition of Aristophanes' ''Birds''
Dunbar took almost forty years to produce her "colossal"{{Cite journal|last=Gibert|first=John|year=1996|title=Review of: Aristophanes: Birds.|url=http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1996/96.05.04.html|journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review|issn=1055-7660}} edition of Aristophanes' Birds with an introduction and commentary.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198150831.book.1/actrade-9780198150831-miscMatter-4|title=PREFACE – Oxford Scholarly Editions|website=oxfordscholarlyeditions.com|date=1997 |doi=10.1093/actrade/9780198150831.book.1 |editor-last1=Dunbar |editor-first1=Nan |last1=Aristophanes |isbn=978-0-19-815083-1 }} It was finally published in 1995 to great acclaim.{{Cite journal|last=Sidwell|first=Keith|year=1996|title=Reviewed of: Aristophanes Birds by NAN DUNBAR; Aristophanes and Athens: an introduction to the plays|journal=Hermathena|issue=161|pages=77–86|jstor=23041158}} Her commentary is notable for its detailed discussion of the ornithological aspects of the play, reflecting detailed knowledge of modern ornithology.
An abridged edition for students was published by Oxford University Press in 1997.{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/aristophanes-birds-9780198721772?cc=gb&lang=en&#|title=Aristophanes: Birds: Student Edition|last=Dunbar|first=Nan|date=26 March 1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780198721772|location=Oxford, New York}}
Selected publications
- 1970. 'Three Notes on Aristophanes.' The Classical Review, 20(3), 269-273. doi:10.1017/S0009840X00227030
- 1990. The ornithology of Aristophanes' Bird-Wall: Birds 1136-1157. in ed. E. M. Craik 'Owls to Athens: essays on classical subjects presented to Sir Kenneth Dover.' {{ISBN|9780198144786}}
- 1995. (ed.), Aristophanes: Birds. Oxford: Clarendon Press, {{ISBN|0198149344}}{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198150831.book.1/actrade-9780198150831-book-1|title=Aristophanes: Birds|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191864322|language=en-US|doi=10.1093/actrade/9780198150831.book.1 |editor-last1=Dunbar |editor-first1=Nan |last1=Aristophanes }}{{Cite journal|last=Sidwell|first=Keith|year=1996|title=Reviewed of: Aristophanes Birds by NAN DUNBAR; Aristophanes and Athens: an introduction to the plays by DOUGLAS M. MacDOWELL|journal=Hermathena|issue=161|pages=77–86|jstor=23041158}}
References
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Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Category:Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
Category:Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford
Category:British women classical scholars