Part IV - Re-entry to the academic life

Summary

The leap that Housman now made from the bondage of the Patent Office seems so extraordinary and reveals so much about how Housman was seen by others that it needs to be laid out in all its glory.

On 15 February 1892 W.P. Ker, who had been appointed Quain Professor of English Language and Literature at University College London in 1889, became the key that unlocked the door of the Patent Office and enabled Housman to escape and re-enter the formal world of classical scholarship. Alfred Godwin, Professor of Greek and Latin, had died earlier in the month, and Ker had been appointed chairman of a committee ‘to consider the whole question of the teaching of both Latin and Greek at the college’. A shake–up was intended and Ker was just the man to see it through. Within a week his committee had produced its report. It opted for a professor in each subject. These professorships were advertised in the newspapers on 19 March, applications had to be in by the end of April, appointments were expected to be made by June and the new professors would take up their posts in October 1892.

The status and opportunity provided by the posts had obvious and intrinsic attractions for Housman but appointment would also represent improvement in his personal finances. According to the handout:

The income of each chair will be derived (1) from a share of the Class fees; (2) a Special Grant of £250 per annum. Of this Grant £150 is guaranteed by the Council for five years only, while £100 may be considered as a permanent endowment. The share of Class fees belonging to the Professor of Latin may be reckoned at £186 per ann., the average of the last three sessions. For the same period the average amount belonging to the Professor of Greek is £188 per ann.

By now Housman was on his maximum of £400 a year at the Patent Office so a ten per cent increase in pay to £436 a year would be a significant incentive to add to the other attractions of the post.