Getatchew Haile, 1931-2021
Getatchew Haile is an Ethiopian philologist and historian. After undertaking university studies in Cairo and Germany, he taught in the Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature at Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa before joining the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in 1976. His studies on modern and ancient Ethiopian languages and literature have been widely considered foundational to the field, with the significance of his work recognized through a MacArthur Fellowship (1988) and election to the British Academy (1987). A strong pro-democracy advocate, he has been highly active in the political life of his homeland both before and after his exile from Ethiopia.
- HMML ID
- 638670042097
- PURL
- LC name
- Getatchew Haile, 1931-2021
- HMML name
- Getatchew Haile, 1931-2021
- HMML native script
- ጌታቸው ኃይሌ
- Library of Congress
- VIAF
Variants
- Getachew Haile
- Getatchew Hailu
- Gētāččaw Ḫāylē
- Haile, Getatchew
Name elements
- Given names
- Getatchew
- Additional names
- Haile
- Honorific prefixes
- Dr. ● Prof.
Personal information
- Birth date
- 1931-04-19
- Death date
- 2021-06-10
- Centuries
- 20th century CE ● 21st century CE
- Gender
- Males
- Place born
- Place died
- Associated countries
- Associated places
- Occupations
- Ranks
- MacArthur Fellow
- Fields of activity
- Languages
Affiliations
- Graduate of
- Affiliation
- Employer
- Officer of
Personal relationships
- Associates
- British Academy (Corresponding fellow)
General notes
- Description
- Received MacArthur Fellowship in 1988; philologist and linguist; studies modern and ancient Ethiopian languages and literature; Regents Professor of Medieval Studies and Cataloguer of Oriental Manuscripts at the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota; author of many articles on Ethiopian Studies; taught for over ten years at the Haile Sellassie I (now Addis Ababa) University in Ethiopia; moved to US in 1976; corresponding fellow of the British Academy; received BA (1957) from the American University in Cairo, a B.D. (1957) from the Coptic Theological College in Cairo, and a Ph.D. (1962) from the University of Tübingen
- Citations
- "Getatchew Haile," MacArthur Foundation, accessed April 19, 2021, https://perma.cc/88EA-NXF4.
- Description
- Getatchew Haile's date of birth is technically unknown, since in his time and culture such things were not considered particularly important; the indicated date is the one he officially adopted later in life, and others have been recorded.
- Description
- Student at Trinity School in Addis Ababa (1945-1951); B.D. in Theology from Coptic Theological College and B.A. in sociology from the American University of Cairo (1952-1957); studied Semitic philology in Göttingen (1957-1958); PhD in Semitic Philology at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (1958-1961); worked for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Professor in the Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature at Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa (1962-1973); married Misrak Amare (12 July 1964); wounded, paralysed, and arrested by the Darg (November 1975); medical treatment in London, UK; joined the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library as cataloger of Ethiopic manuscripts (1976); elected corresponding fellow of the British Academy (1987); MacArthur Fellow (1988-1993); awarded the Edward Ullendorff medal (2013)
- Citations
- Adam Carter McCollum, ed., "Introduction," in Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History: Festschrift for Getatchew Haile Presented by his Friends and Colleagues (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2017), xi-xv.
- Description
- "Prof. Getatchew Haile passed away on June 10, 2021 in New York City after a long illness"
- Citations
- "Obituary: Professor Getatchew Haile Press Release," Ethiopia Education Initiatives, accessed June 14, 2021, https://perma.cc/9DGX-K5A5.
Preferred citation
"Getatchew Haile, 1931-2021." HMML Authority File. Hill Museum & Manuscript Library. Last modified January 30, 2023. https://w3id.org/haf/person/638670042097
Change notes
- Date added
- 2021-04-19
- Last edited
- 2023-01-30