Henry Jackson (1839-1921): papers and letters dealing with the 'Greek Question'

Henry Jackson entered Trinity College, Cambridge from Cheltenham College in 1858. He was elected to a fellowship in 1864, and was appointed Assistant Tutor in 1866 and Praelector in ancient philosophy in 1875. A considerable Greek scholar with a particular interest in Plato, he also became one of the most influential and popular teachers of Classics in the University, and in 1906 succeeded Sir Richard Jebb as Regius Professor of Greek. For the greater part of his career he was a prominent supporter of educational and constitutional reform within the University. The papers catalogued below illustrate two stages in the long campaign to relax the hold of compulsory Greek on the examination system at Cambridge: the Greek Syndicate of 1879-80, to which Jackson acted as secretary, and which achieved no change in the existing state of affairs [1]; and the Studies and Examinations Syndicate a generation later [2].

These papers were found in Cambridge University Library in 1951. A conspectus of Henry Jackson's papers in the University Library forms an appendix to the catalogue of MSS Add.6322-23.

Correspondence and papers of Henry Jackson concerning the place of Greek in the University of Cambridge's curriculum and examinations at the University 1878-80 and 1904-06

[1] An account of the movement for examination reform in the 1870s and of the work of the Greek Syndicate is given in D.A. Winstanley, 'Later Victorian Cambridge' (1947), chapter V. Further papers of Jackson concerning the Syndicate are at MS Add.5944/25 and 39.

[2] A scrapbook made by A.C. Seward dealing with the 'Greek Question' in 1904-05 will be found at Cam. b. 905.20.

Found in Cambridge University Library in 1951.

Please cite as Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Henry Jackson (1839-1921): papers and letters dealing with the 'Greek Question', MS Add.7319

The cataloguing content of this record derives from the work of Stephen G. Roberts in 2010 November. The data was converted by Krista Siemens in 2011 November and uploaded with minor editorial additions by Adam Perkins, 2012 July 02.