Wilmer Cave Wright
American classical philologist
About Wilmer Cave Wright
Lived 1868 – 1951 (aged 83). Wilmer Cave Wright was an American medical historian, classical philologist, university teacher, literary historian, translator and historian.
Emily Wilmer Cave Wright (, France; January 21, 1868 – November 16, 1951) was a British-born American classical philologist, and a contributor to the culture and history of medicine. She was a professor at Bryn Mawr College, where she taught Greek. Wright's works include, The Emperor Julian’s relation to the new sophistic and neo-Platonism, A Short History of Greek Literature, from Homer to Julian (1907), Julian (1913–23), Philostratus and Eunapius: The Lives of the Sophists (1922), Against the Galilaeans (1923), Hieronymi Fracastorii de contagione et contagiosis morbis et eorum curatione libri III (1930), and De morbis artificum Bernardini Ramazini diatriba (1940). Giovanni Maria Lancisi: De aneurysmatibus, opus posthumum (1952), and Bernardino Ramazzini: De Morbis Typographorum (1989) were published postmortem.
Early life and education Emily Wilmer Cave France was born in Birmingham, England. Her parents were William Haumer and F. E. Cave-Browne-Cave France.
She studied from 1888 to 1892 at Girton College, Cambridge under an open scholarship, having first studied Latin and Greek at Birmingham's Mason College. From 1892 to 1893, she was Graduate in Honours, Cambridge Classical Tripos. She was a Fellow in Greek, Bryn Mawr College, 1892–93; Fellow in Latin, University of Chicago, 1893–94, and Fellow in Greek, 1894–95. She earned her Ph.D. in 1895 at the University of Chicago with a comprehensive study of the Sophist and Neoplatonist influences in the literary work of Emperor Julian. She was also a Reader in Greek and Latin, University of Chicago, 1895–96.
Career From 1897, she taught at Bryn Mawr College, first as Reader in Classics, from 1898 as Associate Professor of Greek, later as Full Professor of Greek. In 1933, she retired.
Wright specialized in late antique literature. Her studies on Julian's writings (4th century AD) presupposed great literacy in the ancient literature of previous centuries. Her literary history (1907), which ranged from the Homeric epics to Emperor Julian, was valued in the academic world and highly praised (for example, by Gilbert Murray). Her translations of the sophists Eunapius of Sardis and Philostratos (1922) as well as the writings of Julian (1913-1923) belong to this context. Later, Wright was primarily concerned with the history of early modern medicine and edited annotated reissues of various historical treatises.
Personal life On September 6, 1906, she married J. Edmund Wright. She died November 16, 1951, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Selected works The Emperor Julian’s relation to the new sophistic and neo-Platonism (London, 1896) A Short History of Greek Literature, from Homer to Julian (New York, 1907) Julian ("Loeb Classical Library", 3 volumes, Cambridge/London, 1913–1923) Philostratus and Eunapius: The Lives of the Sophists ("Loeb Classical Library", Cambridge/London, 1922) Against the Galilaeans (1923) Hieronymi Fracastorii de contagione et contagiosis morbis et eorum curatione libri III (New York, 1930) De morbis artificum Bernardini Ramazini diatriba (Chicago, 1940)
Postmortem Giovanni Maria Lancisi: De aneurysmatibus, opus posthumum (New York, 1952) Bernardino Ramazzini: De Morbis Typographorum (Birmingham, 1989)
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Important facts
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Wilmer Cave Wright?
American classical philologist
When was Wilmer Cave Wright born?
Wilmer Cave Wright was born on 21 January 1868 in Birmingham.
When did Wilmer Cave Wright die?
Wilmer Cave Wright died on 16 November 1951 in Bryn Mawr.
What was Wilmer Cave Wright's occupation?
Wilmer Cave Wright was a medical historian, classical philologist, university teacher, literary historian, translator and historian.
What nationality was Wilmer Cave Wright?
Wilmer Cave Wright was American.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Wilmer Cave Wright
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APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wilmer Cave Wright. https://biography.guide/wilmer-cave-wright/
MLA: "Wilmer Cave Wright." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wilmer-cave-wright/.
Chicago: "Wilmer Cave Wright." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wilmer-cave-wright/.
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