The English educator and Greek scholar Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893) is famous for his translation of the dialogues of Plato and for his academic reforms at Oxford.

Benjamin Jowett was born on April 15, 1817, at Camberwell, London. He was educated at St. Paul's School and Balliol College. In 1838, while still an undergraduate, he achieved the unusual distinction of being elected a fellow of Balliol. He received his bachelor's degree in 1839 and his master's in 1842, and in the same year he was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church and appointed to a tutorship in the college. In 1845 he became a priest.

In his summers Jowett traveled on the Continent, making the acquaintance of leading German scholars. At that time he was fascinated with the philosophy of Hegel. He was especially attracted by Hegel's published lectures on the history of philosophy. By 1848 Jowett had also become a student of Plato and...