John H. Collins 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 in Anaconda, Montana

Anaconda, Montana

Anaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...

, he attended the University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 and Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, and in 1952 received his doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in classical history from Goethe University in Frankfurt-am-Main where he studied under Professor Matthias Gelzer, then a leading authority on Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 history, and prepared his doctoral dissertation on "Psychology and Propaganda in Caesar's Writings." He was a frequent contributor to Historia

Historia (journal)

Historia is a peer-reviewed history journal specialising in Greek and Roman Antiquity. It was established in 1952 by Karl Friedrich Stroheker and Gerold Walser and is published quarterly by Franz Steiner Verlag....

, The Classical Journal

The Classical Journal

The Classical Journal is published by the Classical Association of the Middle West and South , the largest and oldest regional classics association in the United States and Canada.- The Classical Journal Print Edition :...

, and Gnomon, and achieved world recognition as an expert on Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

. In 1958 he edited with Dero A. Saunders

Dero A. Saunders

John P. Grier was an American journalist and classical scholar.He was born in Starkville, Mississippi. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he was executive editor of Forbes Magazine from 1960-1981, and continued to edit a regular column until 1999.As a reporter for Fortune magazine in 1957 he...

 a noted edition of Theodor Mommsen

Theodor Mommsen

Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...

's History of Rome

History of Rome (Mommsen)

The History of Rome is a multi-volume history of ancient Rome written by Theodor Mommsen . Originally published by Reimer & Hirsel, Leipzig, as three volumes during 1854-1856, the work dealt with the Roman Republic. A subsequent book was issued which concerned the provinces of the Roman Empire...

.

Fluent in six languages, Collins taught at the overseas division of the University of Maryland

University of Maryland University College

The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning...

, the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, and Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...

 at DeKalb where, in 1967, he received the NIU Excellence in Teaching award. In 1971, he received an Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 mandatory retirement notice. Not ready to retire, he sought the aid of a former student, and protégé W.R.S., who was in a position to discuss the matter with then Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie. Mr. S. explained to the Governor that such an eminent Professor as John H. Collins was too highly respected in both American and European intellectual circles to fall victim to the state's arbitrary mandatory retirement system. Moreover, such an arbitrary decision pursuant to these select intellectual circles would bode ill for the State of Illinois' university system. Subsequently, the decision was made to retain Dr. Collins on a different contract.

Upon Collins' retirement in 1978, a Northern Illinois University lecture hall was dedicated in his honor. He remained active in scholarly pursuits until his death in 1981.