Arthur Fairbanks
American classical archaeologist
About Arthur Fairbanks
Lived 1864 – 1944 (aged 79). Arthur Fairbanks was an American art historian, university teacher, classical archaeologist, classical philologist and archaeologist.
Arthur Fairbanks (November 13, 1864 – January 13, 1944) was an American art historian and administrator who lived and worked in the United States. From 1908 to 1925, he was director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Biography Fairbanks was born November 13, 1864, in Hanover, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1886 and attended the Yale Divinity School and the Union Theological Seminary. He also studied in Germany, receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg in 1890. He was on the faculty of Dartmouth College and Yale and Cornell Universities until 1900, when he became professor of Greek literature and archaeology at the University of Iowa. In 1906, he was appointed professor of Greek and Greek archaeology in the University of Michigan. He was appointed curator of classical art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1907, and in 1908 became director there. He supervised the museum's move to its current Fenway location. He retired in 1925. He was a member of many classical and learned societies. He died January 13, 1944, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Works The First Philosophers of Greece (1898), London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Internet Archive. Introduction to Sociology (1901), New York, Chicago, and Boston, Charles Scribner's Sons. Internet Archive. Athenian Lekythoi (1907), Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Internet Archive. The Mythology of Greece and Rome (1907), New York, D. Appleton-Century Company. Internet Archive. Handbook of Greek Religion (1910), New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago, American Book Company. Internet Archive. Greek Gods and Heroes (1915), Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. HathiTrust.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Arthur Fairbanks's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Arthur Fairbanks?
American classical archaeologist (1864–1944)
When was Arthur Fairbanks born?
Arthur Fairbanks was born on 13 November 1864 in Hanover (NH).
When did Arthur Fairbanks die?
Arthur Fairbanks died on 13 January 1944 in Cambridge.
What was Arthur Fairbanks's occupation?
Arthur Fairbanks was an art historian, university teacher, classical archaeologist, classical philologist and archaeologist.
What nationality was Arthur Fairbanks?
Arthur Fairbanks was American.
Sources & further reading
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APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Arthur Fairbanks. https://biography.guide/arthur-fairbanks/
MLA: "Arthur Fairbanks." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/arthur-fairbanks/.
Chicago: "Arthur Fairbanks." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/arthur-fairbanks/.
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