WHATMOUGH, Joshua. Rochdale, Lancashire 30.6.1897 — Winchester, MA 25.4.1964. British IE Linguist in the U.S.A. (citizen 1942). Professor in Cambridge, Mass. Son of Walter W., an iron-molder, and Elizabeth Hollows. Studied at Manchester (B.A. 1916, and, after war service, M.A. 1921) and Cambridge (Emmanuel College, B.A. 1921, M.A. 1926). In 1921-25 Lecturer in Classics at University College of North Wales. In 1925-26 Professor of Latin at Egyptian University in Cairo. From 1926 Professor at Harvard, in 1926-51 chairman of Department of Comparative Philology, 1951-63 of Dept. of Linguistics (the same renamed), then emeritus, but died soon. Hon. A.M. 1942 Harvard, Litt.D. 1959 Dublin. Married 1930 Verona Friederich Taylor, one daughter and one son.
Whatmough was an active scholar, whose bibliography contains over 600 items. His main interests were ancient Italic languages and Gaulish, later also general linguistics. Both as a scholar and as teacher he was somewhat controversial figure. Among his many students were M. Fowler, E. Hamp, J. Puhvel, and C. Watkins.
Publications: Scholia in Isidori Etymologias Vallicelliana. 54 p. P. 1926; Liber Glossarum. P. 1926.
– With R. S. Conway & S. E. Johnson, Prae-Italic Dialects of Italy. 1-3. Cambridge, Mass. 1933.
– The Foundations of Roman Italy. 19+420 p. 11 pl. L. 1937; Language: A Modern Synthesis. 9+270 p. N.Y. 1956; Grammar of Dialects of Ancient Gaul. Ann Arbor 1963; and numerous other publications on Italic, IE and general linguistics.
Sources: E.Hamp, Language 42, 1966, 620-631 with bibliography; *E. Pulgram, Lex. Gramm. 1996, 1007; W.F. Wyatt Jr. in Briggs (ed.), Biogr. Dict. of N. Am. Class. 1994, 688-681; The Harvard Crimson 28.4.1964 in thecrimson.com with a lively account of his eccentric character; *bibliography in E. Pulgram (ed.), Studies Presented to J.W. the Hague 1957; German Wikipedia.
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