Oswald A.W. Dilke

Who was Oswald A.W. Dilke?

Oswald Ashton Wentworth Dilke was a classical scholar and philologist.

Dilke was born at Hove, Sussex, the son of Clement Wentworth Dilke, younger brother of Sir Fisher Wentworth Dilke, 4th Baronet. He studied Classics at Stowe School and King's College, Cambridge from which he held an MA.

Dilke was appointed a Lecturer at University College, Hull in 1946. From 1950 to 1967 he was a Lecturer, subsequently Senior Lecturer, at the University of Glasgow. In 1967 he became Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the University of Leeds, a post he held until he retired with the title Emeritus Professor in 1980.

Dilke helped establish the Varronian Institute in Rieti. He is known for his scholarship of Latin language and text, studies of Greek theatres, and, in particular, his work on ancient cartography and land surveying. Among his best known books are The Roman land surveyors and Greek and Roman maps.