View source for Esther V. Hansen

{{Short description|American classical scholar (1898–1986)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox academic
| birth_name         = Esther Violet Hansen
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1898|08|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1986|02|23|1898|08|23}}
| death_place        = [[Horseheads, New York]], U.S.
| occupation         = Classical scholar
| alma_mater         = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Vassar College]]
* [[University of Wisconsin]]
* [[Cornell University]]
}}
| thesis_title       = Attalus I of Pergamum
| thesis_year        = 1930
| doctoral_advisor   = Eugene Plumb Andrews
| discipline         = Ancient Greek history
| sub_discipline     = [[Kingdom of Pergamon]]
| workplaces         = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Wells College]]
* [[Elmira College]]
}}
}}
'''Esther Violet Hansen''' (August 23, 1898 – February 23, 1986) was an American classical scholar who specialized in the [[Kingdom of Pergamon]], a [[Hellenistic-era]] monarchy in western [[Asia Minor]]. A [[Guggenheim Fellow]], she worked at [[Elmira College]] as a Professor in Classics for almost three decades (1934–1963).
==Biography==
Esther Violet Hansen, the daughter of Larlane (nee Knudsen) and Peter Hansen, was born on August 23, 1898 in [[Omaha, Nebraska]].<ref name="dbcs" /> After studying at [[Vassar College]] (where she got an AB in 1921) and the [[University of Wisconsin]] (where she got an MA in 1922, her thesis being titled ''The minor poems of Vergil''), she started working at a [[college-preparatory school]] in [[Cincinnati]] as a teacher of Latin in 1923.<ref name="gf" /> In 1924, she moved to [[Wells College]]{{efn|[[T. Corey Brennan]] theorizes that this decision may have motivated by the death of Moses Slaughter, a Latinist who had served as the advisor of her Master of Arts thesis back at Wisconsin.<ref name="dbcs" />}} and worked as a classics professor there until 1930.<ref name="dbcs" /><ref name="gf" />{{efn|Sources differ on what positions Hansen held in Wells College. The [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation]] says that she started out as an instructor in classics before being promoted to assistant professor in 1928.<ref name="gf" /> The ''Database of Classical Scholars'', however, says that she was an assistant professor during her entire tenure.<ref name="dbcs" />}}
Having worked on it while working at Wells, she received her PhD from [[Cornell University]] in 1930, with her dissertation ''[[Attalus I of Pergamum]]'' being advised by future long-time friend Eugene Plumb Andrews.<ref name="dbcs" /> She was an [[American Academy in Rome]] fellow (1930–1931) and an [[American Council of Learned Societies]] fellow (1931–1932).<ref name="gf" /> In 1934, she started working at [[Elmira College]] as an Assistant Professor in Classics, and she was later promoted to Associate Professor in 1939 and eventually Professor in 1940.<ref name="dbcs" /> From 1954 to 1956, she was president of Elmira's [[Phi Beta Kappa]] chapter.<ref name="dbcs" /> In 1963, her career at Elmira College ended.<ref name="dbcs" />
As an academic, she specialized in the [[Kingdom of Pergamon]]. In 1943, she was appointed as a [[Guggenheim Fellow]] for a project on the city of [[Pergamon]] during the [[Attalid dynasty]] era.<ref name="gf">{{Cite web |title=Esther V. Hansen |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/esther-v-hansen/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |language=en}}</ref> Her 1947 book ''[[The Attalids of Pergamum]]'' was described by [[T. Corey Brennan]] as "the first truly comprehensive study of [the Kingdom of Pergamon] and [one that] remains an essential study".<ref name="dbcs" />
Hansen died in [[Horseheads, New York]], on February 23, 1986.<ref name="dbcs">{{Cite web |last=Briggs |first=Ward W. Jr. |last2=Brennan |first2=T. Corey |title=HANSEN, Esther Violet |url=https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/8766-hansen-esther-violet |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=Database of Classical Scholars}}</ref> Her body was later returned to her native Omaha, where her funeral was held.<ref name="dbcs" />
==Publications==
*''[[The Attalids of Pergamum]]'' (1947)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=A. H. M. |date=1948 |title=Review of The Attaliḍs of Pergamon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/556367 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=63 |issue=247 |pages=233–234 |issn=0013-8266 |via=JSTOR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walbank |first=F. W. |date=1948 |title=Review of The Attalids of Pergamon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/704786 |journal=The Classical Review |volume=62 |issue=3/4 |pages=149–150 |issn=0009-840X |via=JSTOR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Briscoe |first=John |date=1975 |editor-last=Hansen |editor-first=Esther V. |title=The Attalids |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/710231 |journal=The Classical Review |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=92–93 |issn=0009-840X |via=JSTOR}}</ref>
==Notes==
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==References==
{{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Esther V.}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:American classical scholars]]
[[Category:American women classical scholars]]
[[Category:Writers from Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Scholars of ancient Greek history]]
[[Category:Historians of Turkey]]
[[Category:Wells College faculty]]
[[Category:Elmira College faculty]]
[[Category:Vassar College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]