James H. Tatum *69

Jim died Feb. 6, 2026, in Hanover, N.H. He was 83.

Born in Longview, Texas, in 1942, Jim received a B.A. in English from the University of Texas, Austin in 1963 and earned a Ph.D. in classics from Princeton in 1969.

Jim began a 40-year teaching career at Dartmouth in 1969 and was the emeritus Aaron Lawrence Professor of Classics at his death. He was instrumental in developing the interdisciplinary humanities program at Dartmouth; he brought together academics from around the world to Hanover in 1989 for the International Conference on the Ancient Novel II. As two-time chair of the classics department, he participated in the integration of women scholars into the department and received the Huntington Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Jim’s co-teaching with William W. Cook led to their book African American Writers and Classical Tradition. He was the author of The Mourner’s Song: War and Remembrance from the ‘Iliad’ to Vietnam.

A fellow at the Ligurian Study Center in Bogliasco, Italy, Jim had visiting appointments at Johns Hopkins, the University of Michigan, Princeton, and Drew University.

Jim is survived by his husband, Bill Noble, and brother Randy.