Michael Winterbottom (academic)

Biography

Michael Winterbottom was born in Sale, Cheshire on 22 September 1934. After studying classical antiquity science at Dulwich College, Prof Winterbottom attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where he completed his MA and DPhil. He completed his doctoral work at Merton College and Christ Church, Oxford, before working as a lecturer in Latin and Greek at University College London (1962–1967).

Between 1967 and 1992 he was an academic tutor and fellow in classics at Worcester College, Oxford (1967–1992), teaching Latin and Greek Literature from 1990 to 1992. In 1992 he was appointed the Corpus Christi Professor of Latin at Corpus Christi College, a post he retained until his retirement in 2001. He remains an Emeritus Fellow of Worcester College and Corpus Christi.

Winterbottom has worked widely on the Latin prose of the classical, late antique and medieval periods, producing editions in particular for the Oxford Classical Texts and Oxford Medieval Texts series. These include the writings De Officiis of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria and the smaller writings of Tacitus, but also works of medieval authors such as Gildas, Abbo of Fleury, Dunstan of Canterbury. He has since 1998, in collaboration with R.M. Thomson, produced texts and translations of several books by the twelfth-century author William of Malmesbury.

He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (now Emeritus) in 1978.

Personal life

Professor Winterbottom resides in North Oxford with his wife Nicolette Winterbottom, daughter of English illustrator Ruth Gervis. He has two sons from a previous marriage. Michael is a keen global traveller and walker, and is an active member and Vice-President of the Oxford Geology Group, having served as chairman in the past.