Papers of Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb

Richard Claverhouse Jebb was born near Dundee on 27 August 1841, the son of Robert Jebb. He attended St Columba's College at Rathfarnham and Charterhouse, whence he was admitted to Trinity College Cambridge on 22 February 1858 on the side of Joseph Lightfoot, later Bishop of Durham. Jebb had a sparkling undergraduate career, winning the Porson prize in 1859, the Craven Scholarship the following year and was in 1862 Senior Classic and first chancellor's medallist. In 1863 he was elected Fellow of Trinity where he helped reorganise classical teaching and introduce intercollegiate teaching in the classics. In 1869 Jebb was elected Public Orator. New Trinity statutes allowed holders of the post to marry while retaining their fellowship and Jebb took advantage of this, marrying in 1874 Caroline, widow of General Adam Slemmer.

In 1875, Jebb was elected to the chair of Greek at Glasgow, where he worked hard to win over his students, despite "Glasgow Scotch not being among his accomplishments". The affection of his charges was seen most clearly in their presentation to him on his return from serious illness.

In 1889 Benjamin Hall Kennedy died and Jebb was able to return to Cambridge to become Regius Professor of Greek, and was re-elected Fellow of Trinity. He retained both positions until his death in 1905. During this second Cambridge period Jebb was elected four times as MP for the University and was knighted in 1900. He was appointed OM in 1905. Throughout his professional life he worked strenuously in the cause of ancient Greek studies. He helped found the British School at Athens and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies and was a founder member of the British Academy.

Jebb published regularly. He produced elementary editions of Sophocles' Electra and Ajax in 1867 and 1868 and of Theophrastus' Characters in 1870. In 1876 he published The Attic Orators from Antiphon to Isaeus. But is his work on Sophocles for which he is justifiably remembered. Between 1883 and 1888 he produced editions of Oedipus Tyrranus, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone and, relocated to Cambridge, Philoctetes, Women of Trachis, Electra and Ajax between 1890 and 1896. In 1905 his edition of Bacchylides, expanding on work he had done on the British Museum papyrus was published

This archive contains 21 volumes of Jebb's lecture notes, all but one from the last five years of his life. Topics include Greek lyric poetry, Greek epic poetry, Greek drama and Greek prose literature

These notebooks form a series within the additional manuscripts and are catalogued as Add.Ms.a.249-269

Please cite as Trinity College Library Cambridge: Add.ms.a.249-269