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Robert Scott

1811 – 1887

British academic and priest

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About Robert Scott

Lived 1811 – 1887 (aged 76). Robert Scott was a British lexicographer, linguist, classical philologist, university teacher and philologist.

Robert Scott (26 January 1811 – 2 December 1887) was a British academic philologist and Anglican clergyman. He is best known for co-authoring the Greek-English Lexicon, commonly known as Liddell and Scott, which is still in use today. Scott was also a professor of Greek at the University of Oxford for over thirty years before his death on 2 December 1887.

Biography Scott was born on 26 January 1811 in Bondleigh, Devon, England. He was educated at St Bees School in Cumbria, and Shrewsbury School in Shropshire. He studied classics at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1833.

Scott was ordained in 1835 and held the college living of Duloe, Cornwall, from 1845 to 1850. He was a prebendary of Exeter Cathedral from 1845 to 1866 and rector of South Luffenham, Rutland, from 1850 to 1854 when he was elected Master of Balliol College, Oxford. He served as Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at Oxford from 1861 to 1870 and as the Dean of Rochester from 1870 until his death in 1887.

Scott is best known as the co-editor (with his colleague Henry Liddell) of A Greek-English Lexicon, the standard dictionary of the classical Greek language. According to the 1925 edition of the Lexicon, the project was originally proposed to Scott by the London bookseller and publisher David Alphonso Talboys; it was published by the Oxford University Press.

In 1872, Scott was taken with Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" poem published the year before, and he wrote the first known German translation of the piece. He engaged Carroll in an exchange of letters wherein he jocularly claimed his German version, called "Der Jammerwoch", was the original, with Carroll's being the translation.

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Important facts

Birth century
Education
Balliol College, St. Bees School
Positions held
Dean of Rochester
Employers
University of Oxford
Also known as
Scott R

People in Robert Scott's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Robert Scott's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Robert Scott?

British academic and priest (1811–1887)

When was Robert Scott born?

Robert Scott was born on 26 January 1811 in South West England.

When did Robert Scott die?

Robert Scott died on 2 December 1887 in Rochester.

What was Robert Scott's occupation?

Robert Scott was a lexicographer, linguist, classical philologist, university teacher and philologist.

What nationality was Robert Scott?

Robert Scott was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Robert Scott

· Wikidata: Q747540

· DBpedia: Robert Scott (philologist)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Robert Scott. https://biography.guide/robert-scott-lexicographer/

MLA: "Robert Scott." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/robert-scott-lexicographer/.

Chicago: "Robert Scott." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/robert-scott-lexicographer/.

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