John F. Oates, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History and Classics, Dies at 71

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c0-3.5,0-7,0-10.5h0v-1.3h0c0.6,0,0,0,1.8,0c0.2,0,0.4,0,0.7,0C19.5,30.3,20.5,33.5,23.5,35.9z" /> </symbol> </svg> <div class="main-content"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12"> <article class="story basic-story"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <header class="story-header"> <div class="story-published-and-updated-info"><small class="story-published-info">PUBLISHED <time datetime="2006-06-29 12:00">June 29, 2006 </time> IN <a href="/campus" rel="tag" class="topic-link">Campus</a><span class="topic-link-divider">, </span><a href="/academics" rel="tag" class="topic-link">Academics</a> </small> </div> <h1 class="story-title">John F. Oates, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History and Classics, Dies at 71</h1> <p class="story-subtitle">Oates was one of America's outstanding papyrologists</p> </header> </div> </div> <div class="story-sub-hero"> <div class="row"> <div class="col col-xs-12 col-sm-1 col-lg-2"></div> <div class="col col-xs-12 col-sm-5 col-lg-4"> <div class="story-social-sharing"> <div class="story-social-sharing-inner addthis_toolbox" addthis:url="http://default/2006/06/oatesobit.html" addthis:title="John F. Oates, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History and Classics, Dies at 71"><strong>Share this story</strong> <ul> <li><a href=" #" class="facebook addthis_button_facebook"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-facebook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Share this story on facebook</span></a></li> <li><a href="#" class="twitter addthis_button_twitter"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-twitter" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Share this story on twitter</span></a></li> <li><a href="#" class="reddit addthis_button_reddit"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-reddit" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Share this story on reddit</span></a></li> <li><a href="#" class="linkedin addthis_button_linkedin"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-linkedin" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Share this story on linkedin</span></a></li> <li><button type="button" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#js-permalink-modal" class="permalink"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-permalink" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Get this story's permalink</span></button></li> <li><button type="button" onclick="window.print()" class="print"> <svg> <use xlink:href="#svg-print" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /> </svg><span class="sr-only">Print this story</span></button></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col col-xs-12 col-sm-5 col-lg-4"> <div class="story-byline">By Duke Today Staff</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="story-main-content"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div> <p class="story-body-text">John F. Oates, 71, died at the Forest at Duke in Durham on Saturday, June 24, 2006.</p> <p class="story-body-text">Oates was professor emeritus of ancient history and classics at Duke and was recognized as one of America's outstanding papyrologists and a leading expert on Egypt in the Ptolemaic period.</p> <p class="story-body-text">He was born in 1934 and educated at Yale University and also was awarded a Fulbright fellowship for Study at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens in 1956-57.</p> <p class="story-body-text">After teaching at Yale, Oates moved in 1967 to Duke, where he played an important role in the building of the Department of Classical Studies. Oates served the department as</p> <p class="story-body-text">chair from 1971 to 1980, and simultaneously served the university as chair of its Humanities Council (1975-79). He served four years as president of the American Society of Papyrologists and was a trustee of the National Humanities Center.</p> <p class="story-body-text">In collaboration with R. S. Bagnall, K. Worp, and the late W. H. Willis, the Checklist of Papyri, Ostraca, and Tablets, now a standard for reference to published papyri. A Checklist of Arabic Papyri has more recently supplemented the earlier volume.</p> <p class="story-body-text">Oates also co-founded with Willis the Duke Data Rank of Documentary Papyri, a searchable, electronic corpus of previously published Greek and Latin texts. He also, in collaboration with Duke University Library, oversaw the creation of The Duke Papyrus Archive as a pioneering resource that presented in digitized form almost 1,400 pieces.</p> <p class="story-body-text">Oates is survived by his wife of 49 years, Rosemary Walsh Oates; his daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Oates of Durham; and son-in-law, Dr. John Shin; granddaughters, Catherine and Alexandra Shin; his daughter, Emily Oates Wingfield of Richmond, Va.; and son-in-law, Alan Wingfield; grandchildren, Julia and Henry Wingfield; his son, John F. Oates, Jr. of Raleigh; and daughter-in-law, Mary Ruffin Hanbury; his daughter, Sarah Oates of Glasgow; and son-in-law, David Cross; grandchildren, Laura and Emma Cross.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div class="story-footer-notes"> <p></p><div class="story-more_information"><span class="story__more-information__contact"><b>Contact:</b> Sally Hicks</span><br><span class="story__more-information__phone"><b>Phone:</b> (919) 681-8055</span><br><span class="story__more-information__email"><b>Email:</b> sally.hicks@duke.edu</span><br></div> </div> </div> </div> <footer class="story-footer"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div class="story-social-sharing"> <div class="story-social-sharing-inner addthis_toolbox" addthis:url="http://default/2006/06/oatesobit.html" addthis:title="John F. 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John F. Oates, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History and Classics, Dies at 71 | Duke Today