Youtie, Herbert Chayyim

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YOUTIE, HERBERT CHAYYIM

YOUTIE, HERBERT CHAYYIM (1904–1980), U.S. papyrologist. Youtie, who was born in Atlantic City, joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1929 and was appointed research professor of Greek papyrology in 1946. He was generally considered to be the world's leading authority in nonliterary papyrological matters. From the late twenties he devoted himself to the editing of Greek papyri, primarily those that were found at the Michigan excavations in Karanis, Lower Egypt. In addition to publications of particular groups of papyri – Papyri and Ostraca from Karanis (1944), Archive of Aurelius Isidorus (1960) – Youtie concerned himself with elucidating the theoretical principles necessary to the modern editor of a papyrus text in order to ensure accuracy and reliability, in his Textual Criticism of Documentary Papyri, edited by E.G. Turner (1958). He also wrote The Papyrologist: Artificer of Fact (1962); Scriptiunculae (1973); and Scriptiunculae Posteriores (1981).

His wife, louise canberg youtie (1909–2004), was a well-respected decipherer of papyri at the University of Michigan and worked closely with Herbert.