Adrianus Turnebus

Adrianus Turnebus (Adrien Tournèbe) (1512-1565), French classical scholar, was born at Les Andelys in Normandy.

At the age of twelve he was sent to Paris to study, and attracted great notice by his remarkable abilities. After having held the post of professor of belles-lettres in the university of Toulouse, in 1547 he returned to Paris as professor (or royal reader) of Greek at the College Royal.

In 1552 he was entrusted with the printing of the Greek books at the royal press, in which he was assisted by his friend, Guillaume Morel. He died of tuberculosis on June 12 1565.

His works chiefly consist of philological dissertations, commentaries (on Aeschylus, Sophocles, Theophrastus, Philo and portions of Cicero), and translations of Greek authors into Latin and French. His son, Étienne, published his complete works, in three volumes (Strassburg, 1600), and his son Adrien his Adversaria, containing explanations and emendations of numerous passages in classical authors.

See Oratio funebris by Le'ger du Chesne (Leodegarius a Quercu) prefixed to the Strassburg edition; L Clement, De Adriani Turnebi praefationibus et poematis (1899); J-E Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship (1908) iii.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.