Call Number:

Ms Coll 1660

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.75 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

George Aaron Barton typescripts of the Mystic Element in the Religions of the World, circa 20th century, Ms Coll 1660, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

circa 20th century (inclusive)

Creator:

Barton, George A. (George Aaron), 1859-1942

Form:

Typescripts and Drafts (documents)

Abstract:

George Aaron Barton (1859-1942) was an author, scholar, and professor of Semitic languages, teaching at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania. This collection consists of two typescripts for the book Mystic Element in the Religions of the World, which are undated.

George Aaron Barton was an author, scholar, and professor of Semitic languages. Born in Quebec, Canada, Barton became a minister in the Society of Friends, in 1879, after attending the Oakwood Seminary in Poughkeepsie, New York. He continued his education at Haverford College, earning his B.A. in 1882 and M.A. in 1885. He worked briefly in the insurance field before teaching at the Friends School in Providence, Rhode Island from 1884 to 1889. He then resumed his studies at Harvard, focusing on religion, Assyriology, and Semitic languages. After gaining his Ph.D. in 1891, Barton became a professor of Semitic languages at Bryn Mawr College, where he also served as college chaplain.

In 1922, Barton came to the University of Pennsylvania where he succeeded Morris Jastrow as professor of Semitic languages and the history of religion from 1922 to 1931 and then as a professor emeritus from 1932 until his death. While at Penn, he also served as the director of the American School of Oriental Research in Baghdad from 1921 to 1934. After leaving the Society of Friends in protest of its World War I pacifist stand, Barton was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1919. He was professor of New Testament literature at the Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Philadelphia from 1922 until 1937.

Internationally known for his writings on Biblical subjects, Barton was also a noted scholar of archeology, helping appraise and interpret the findings of many archeological expeditions of the Middle East. His publications on cuneiform writing included work with texts from Penn's University Museum collections as well as with other Sumerian tablets. He also became interested in biblical archeology, writing a popular text book on the subject, published in 1916. His extensive scholarly publications addressed not only Semitic languages and biblical archeology, but also translations and commentaries on biblical texts.

After Barton's first wife, Caroline Brewer Danforth, died in 1930, he later married Katherine Blye Hagy. Barton and his first wife had one adopted son. George Aaron Barton died in 1942 in Weston, Massachusetts.

Biographical note taken in its entirety from University of Pennsylvania's Archives finding aid for: George Aaron Barton Papers, 1903-1942, UPT 50 B293

This collection consists of two typescripts for the unpublished book Mystic Element in the Religions of the World, which are undated, but were written before his death in 1942. It is not clear when he drafted this book for publication during his lifetime.

Typescript I is a draft of the book, which is heavily annotated with written page numbers, pasted in materials and pages that consist of multiple typed paragraphs glued together. Typescript I consists of 711 pages with a notes and selected bibliography section. Typescript II also seems to be a draft, but one that is ready for publication. There are very few notes and edits in this edition and it seems as though Barton made a more conscious effort to type the page numbers. Typescript II is 769 pages long, with a preface and contents section numbered with roman numerals, concluding with a notes and selected bibliography section.