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Bio
Alexis Caswell Angell
Hinsdale and Demmon, History of the University of Michigan 298-299
Hinsdale and Demmon, History of the University of Michigan 298-299
Alexis Caswell Angell was born at Providence, Rhode Island, April 26, 1857, son of James Burrill and Sarah (Caswell) Angell.
After appointed Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Michigan, and the following year his title was changed to Professor of Semitic Languages and Literatures and Hellenistic Greek, which he still retains.
He is the author of the following: "Inscriptions of Salmannassur II, 860-824 B.C." (1886); a "Hebrew Word Manual" (1890); "Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts" from the original tablets in the British Museum (2 volumes, 1895-1897); and "Astrological and Astronomical Texts" from the original tablets in the British Museum (1899). He has also been a frequent contributor to periodical literature in his special lines of study. He delivered the opening address before the Semitic Section of the World's Congress of Arts and Sciences, St. Louis, 1904, on the subject, "The Relations of Semitics to Religion."
Under his editorship is now appearing the "Semitic Series of Handbooks," to be completed in thirteen volumes by various hands. This extensive work embraces five important departments, as follows: The Hebrews: their history and government, ethics and religion, and social life; The Babylonians and
Receiving his preparatory training in the public schools of Burlington, Vermont, and of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he entered the University of Michigan in 1874, where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in and Bachelor of Laws in 1880.
He immediately began the practice of his profession in Detroit, where he has continued to the present time. During the years 1893-1898 he was Professor of Law at the University, lecturing one half of each year.
He edited the second edition of Cooley's Torts (1888), the sixth edition of his Constitutional Limitations (1890), and the second edition of his Principles of Constitutional Law (1891).
He was married, June 6, 1880, to Fanny Cary Cooley, daughter of the Honorable Thomas M. Cooley, of Ann Arbor. Six children have been born to them, of whom only three survive: Sarah Caswell (A.B. [Vassar] 1905), James Burrill, and, Robert Cooley.