Moses Finley facts for kids

Sir Moses Israel Finley (born Finkelstein; 20 May 1912 – 23 June 1986) was an American-born British expert on ancient history. He studied the ancient world, especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

In the 1950s, he was questioned by a government committee in the United States. This led him to move to England. There, he became a well-known classical scholar. He later became the head of Darwin College, Cambridge. His most famous book is The Ancient Economy (1973). In this book, he suggested that ancient economies were based on social status and community ideas, not just on making money.

Early Life and Education

Moses Finley was born in New York City in 1912. His birth name was Moses Israel Finkelstein. Around 1946, he changed his last name to Finley.

He went to Syracuse University when he was only fifteen. He graduated with high honors in psychology. He also studied at Columbia University. His main studies were in public law. However, most of his published work was about ancient history. He focused on the social and economic parts of the ancient world.

Career in the United States

Finley taught at Columbia University and City College of New York. He was influenced by scholars from the Frankfurt School. These scholars were working in America at the time. After that, he taught at Rutgers University.

The Red Scare Period

In the 1950s, the United States experienced a time called the "Red Scare." During this period, many people worried about communism. The government questioned some citizens about their possible links to communism.

In 1951, a former communist named Karl Wittfogel said that Finley was a communist. In 1952, Finley appeared before a government committee. He chose not to answer questions about his association with communism. This was his right under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Rutgers University then decided that professors who did not cooperate with government inquiries would be fired. On December 31, 1952, Finley was dismissed from Rutgers. Many faculty members protested this decision.

In 1954, he was again questioned by another government committee. He again chose not to answer questions about being a member of the Communist Party USA.

Career in Britain

After leaving the United States, Finley moved to Britain. In 1955, he became a university lecturer in classics at Cambridge. He also became a fellow at Jesus College in 1957.

He later became a reader of ancient social and economic history. From 1970 to 1979, he was a professor of ancient history. From 1976 to 1982, he was the head of Darwin College.

Finley helped expand the study of classics. He moved it beyond just language to include culture, economics, and society. In 1962, he became a British citizen. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 1971. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight. This meant he was then called "Sir Moses Finley."

His Important Work

One of his most important books was The World of Odysseus (1954). In this book, he used ideas from anthropologists to understand the ancient Greek poet Homer. This was a new and different way to study ancient texts.

Another key idea from Finley was about the ancient economy. He believed that ancient economies were not like modern ones. He argued that people in ancient times did not think about the economy as a separate part of life. Instead, their economic actions were often based on social reasons, not just on making money.

Marriage and Death

In 1932, Moses Finley married Mary (whose maiden name was Moscowitz). She was a schoolteacher. They had a happy marriage and supported each other.

On June 23, 1986, Finley died in Cambridge, England. He had suffered a stroke the day before. This happened shortly after he learned that his wife had passed away.

See also

In Spanish: Moses I. Finley para niños

• Morris U. Cohen
• Jack D. Foner
• Morris Schappes
• Rapp-Coudert Committee