Thomas William Allen, FBA (9 May 1862 – 30 April 1950) was an English classicist, scholar of Ancient Greek and palaeographer.

[3][4] Details about Allen's upbringing are lacking, but he was educated at Amersham School and by private tutors before going up to University College London in 1880.

He would later write in the preface to his magnum opus: "My interest in palaeography and philology began with the man to whom I dedicate this book, my only teacher.

[note 1] Allen became a close friend and assisted Goodwin in his work on a new edition of the Homeric Hymns by collating a number of manuscripts.

Allen was asked to assume responsibility for seeing what remained through the press, a task that entailed considerable labour on his part, though out of modesty he omitted his name from the title page (Hymni Homerici, ed.

[17][note 3] Not only were these trips productive in terms of providing the young scholar with a wealth of palaeographical experience, but at the end of his travels, while in Florence, he would meet his future wife Miss Laura Hope.

During the latter part of the decade he began a working relationship with David B. Monro, a leading Homeric scholar and Provost of Oriel College, Oxford.

Even then, after they moved into their new residence at 6 Canterbury Road, his wife's aunt and sister took part of the house and contributed towards expenses.

[1] Fortunately, he was appointed a visiting lecturer at Royal Holloway College in 1893, a position he held until 1918, and which would bring in additional monies.

He collaborated with E. E. Sikes, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of St John's College, Cambridge, to bring out an edition of the Homeric Hymns (1904) with an English introduction and running commentary.

Finally, in 1931 he published his edito maior of the Iliad, a three-volume work, with the first volume containing solely introductory materials (in English).

All of his editions of Homer were praised at the time and were the products of years of labour, but they have subsequently been criticized; Nigel Wilson has suggested that his "classification of the Iliad manuscripts was essentially flawed ...

He first characterizes the efforts of earlier editors: "The Greek classics have been read, studied, and edited for above four hundred years; the simple and easy corrections that the early editors, Greeks and Italians, made in their texts have been followed by the more learned but of necessity less and less certain attempts of Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Germans, English, who have provided every ancient writer with an accumulation of alternative readings which exceeds in bulk his own words."

I will content myself with stating one principle, not the only one, but that which is in most danger of being overlooked, namely, that no emendation is certain the passing of which into the actual documentary reading cannot be explained according to recognized graphical laws.

Mrs. Allen would become a devoted member of the newly formed Christian Science movement, which had only begun to hold public services in London the year that Charlotte was born.

[25] Allen was old-fashioned in tutorials, but was the patron of a dining society, a lover of fine food and wine, and a much-respected and courteous member of college life.