Oliver Farrar Emerson (May 24, 1860 - March 13, 1927) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

educator and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

noted for

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

scholarship and his ''History of the

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

''.

Biography

Emerson was born in

Traer, Iowa Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,583 at the time of the 2020 census. Traer is known for the iron spiral staircase that originally led to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding ...

, on May 24, 1860. He studied at

Iowa College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

, taking a

post graduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

course at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, where he received the degree of D.Ph. in 1891. After serving as superintendent of schools in Grinnell and

Muscatine, Iowa Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...

, he was principal of the Academy of Iowa College (1885–88), instructor in English (1889–91) Cornell University and assistant professor of rhetoric and English philology in the same institution (1892–96), when he took the same chair at Adelbert College of

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

. He became Oviatt Professor of English at Case Western in 1906, and was head of the English department. He was a member of the Modern Language Association,

American Dialect Society The American Dialect Society (ADS), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society ...

and the Simplified Spelling Board. During his career at Case Western, he resided in East Cleveland and founded the Novel Club. He was married to Annie Laurie Logan of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, with whom he had a son and a daughter. He died in Ocala, Florida March 13, 1927

Writings

He was a regular contributor to various philological journals and magazines. In addition, he wrote: * ''History of the English Language'' (1894) * ''A Brief History of the English Language'' (1896) * '' Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Edward Gibbon'' (1898) * ''A Middle English Reader'' (1905) * ''Outline History of the English Language'' (1906) He edited: * ''Dr.

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

's Rasselas'' (1895) * ''Poems of

'' (1911)

Notes

References

* ;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Oliver Farrar 1860 births 1927 deaths Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty American philologists Writers from Cleveland People from Tama County, Iowa Historians from Iowa Historians from Ohio Presidents of the Modern Language Association