Henry Drisler was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 classical scholar, born on Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, USA.

Drisler graduated at Columbia College

Columbia College of Columbia University

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...

 in 1839, taught classics in the Columbia grammar school for four years, and was then appointed tutor in classics in the college. In 1845 he became adjunct professor of Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 there, in 1857 was appointed to the new separate chair of Latin language and literature, and ten years later succeeded Dr. Charles Anthon

Charles Anthon

Charles Anthon was an American classical scholar.-Life:After graduating with honors at Columbia College in 1815, he began the study of law, and in 1819 was admitted to the bar, but never practiced...

 as Jay Professor of Greek Language and Literature. He was acting president in 1867 and in 1888–1889, and from 1890 to his retirement as professor emeritus in 1894 was dean of the School of Arts, as the undergraduate division of Columbia was known at the time. (For this reason, some Columbia scholars consider him, and not John Howard Van Amringe

John Howard Van Amringe

John Howard Van Amringe was a U.S. educator and mathematician. He was born in Philadelphia, and graduated from Columbia in 1860. Thereafter, he taught mathematics at Columbia, holding a professorship from 1865 to 1910 when he retired...

, to have been the first dean of Columbia College.) He died in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1897.

Dr. Drisler completed and supplemented Dr. Anthon's labors as an editor of classical texts. His criticisms and corrections of Liddell and Scott's A Greek–English Lexicon, of which he brought out a revised American edition in 1846, won his name a place on the title-page of the British edition in 1879. In 1870 he published a revised and enlarged edition of Yonge

Charles Duke Yonge

Charles Duke Yonge was an English historian, classicist, and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works.-Life:...

's English Greek Lexicon. His revisions are also part of the history of the work that is currently available as Lewis and Short's A Latin Dictionary

A Latin Dictionary

A Latin Dictionary is a popular English-language lexicographical work of the Latin language, completed in 1879, published by Oxford University Press, and still widely used by classical scholars and Latinists.-History:...

.

Dr. Drisler ardently opposed slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

. In 1863, he wrote a brilliant refutation of Episcopal Bishop John Henry Hopkins

John Henry Hopkins

John Henry Hopkins was the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and was the eighth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Early life and career:...

' book The Bible View of Slavery. The refutation relied completely on the Bible and displayed Dr. Drisler's wide range of scholarship.