BENDER, Harold Herman. Martinsburg, W.Va. 20.4.1882 — Princeton 15.8.1951. U.S. IE, Indo-Iranian, and Lithuanian Scholar. Professor in Princeton. Born in an old American family, son of Isaac Lewis Bender (1850–1908) and Margaret (Maggie) Eleanore Kline (1852–1940). A.B. 1903 Lafayette College, then studied Sanskrit and IE at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (under M. Bloomfield). Ph.D. 1907 there, 1907-08 further studies at Berlin (Pischel, Schulze). In 1909-12 Instructor of Modern Languages at Princeton, then 1912-18 Assistant Professor and 1918-39 Professor of Indo-Germanic Philology at the same university. In 1939-50 M. Taylor Pyne Professor there, and 1927-44 founder and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Languages and Literatures. 1950 emeritus, but remained active until end. Taught German, Gothic, Old Norse, Sanskrit, Lithuanian and linguistics. In WW I Lithuanian translator for Post Office Department and German expert for Department of Justice, in WW II Consultant to Office of War Information and to Department of Justice. In 1922 Dr. h.c. of Lithuanian philology, Kaunas, 1924 Litt.D. Lafayette College, 1928 Knight of the (Lithuanian) Order of Gediminas. In 1910 married Amelia Ashmond Hetzel (1884–1972), one son (not Ernest Bender).

Publications: The Suffixes ‘mant’ and ‘vant’ in Sanskrit and Avesta. 116 p. Baltimore 1910; “Notes on Indo-Iranian -vant”, IF 30, 1912, 137f.; “The Accent of Sanskrit -mant and -vant”, IF 34, 1914-15, 383-389; “On the naturalistic background of the “Frog-Hymn”, Rig-Veda 7, 103”, JAOS 37, 1917, 186-191; “The etymology and meaning of Sanskrit garútmant”, JAOS 42, 1922, 203f.

– Numerous articles on Sanskrit, Vedic, IE and Lithuanian.

– A Lithuanian Etymological Index. 340 p. Princeton & L. 1921; The home of the Indo-Europeans. 72 p. Princeton 1922.

– German short stories. 6+365 p. N.Y. 1920.

Sources:  S.D. Atkinson, Language 27, 1951, 612f.; Nat. Cyclop. of Am. Biogr., Current Vol. D, 1934, 309f.; Who Was Who in Am. 3; parents and wife (but not son) in ancestors.familysearch.org; Wikipedia.