David Nichol Smith FBA (16 September 1875 – 18 January 1962) was a Scottish literary scholar and Merton Professor of English Literature at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Background

Smith was born in Edinburgh, educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and Paris' Sorbonne. He was an editor of textbooks before taking a position as an English professor at Armstrong College in 1904 and reader in English at

, where he lived until his death. In 1921 he was elected

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

, where he was Merton Professor of English from 1929 to 1946.Nichol Smith Collection , National Library of Australia
/ref> In 1937, he gave the Alexander Lectures in Toronto, Canada, and arranged travel through the United States, visiting his pupils who were strategically placed across the whole continent. He followed their careers with the greatest interest, and always welcomed them back to his study in 20

Merton Street Merton Street is a cobbled street in central Oxford, England.Merton Street< ...

, where one was sometimes surprised to learn the latest news of what was happening in universities in California or Australia. In his retirement he travelled widely and he was Professor of English at Adelaide University in 1950–51.

References

External links

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Correspondence of David Nichol Smith, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, D. Nichol Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Merton Professors of English Literature 1962 deaths 1875 births Fellows of the British Academy