John Wight Duff

John Wight Duff, FBA (1866–1944), often abbreviated as J. Wight Duff, was a Scottish classicist and academic. He was Professor of Classics at Armstrong College, Durham from 1898 to 1933.

Education Born in Dundee on 4 September 1866, Duff was the son of an iron founder, William Duff and his wife, Sarah Fergusson Wight. His grandfather was a well-known brass founder and Provost of Greenock, where the family had a connection with James Watt, the engineer. John attended Aberdeen Grammar School, winning gold medals each year he was at the school and leaving as Latin dux in 1882. He then read classics at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with first-class honours in 1886 and winning the Simpson Prize for best graduate in Ancient Greek. He then completed a classics degree at Pembroke College, Oxford, with an open scholarship, graduating with first-class honours in 1890.

Career Duff was appointed an assistant professor of Greek at the University of Aberdeen in 1891, and then moved to Durham College of Science (later reformed as Armstrong College, Durham) in 1893 to be Professor of Classics and English.

Later life In retirement, Duff continued to write; with Arnold Mackay Duff (his son [1900-1976]), he produced Minor Latin Poets: With Introductions and English Translations in 1934 and two years later completed Roman Satire: Its Outlook on Social Life (published by Cambridge University Press). He died on 8 December 1944, aged 78.