John Algeo (1930–2019) was an American academic, trained as a linguist, and the author of one of the standard American textbooks on the history of the English language. He was also a Theosophist and a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He was the Vice President of the Theosophical Society Adyar and, was a Professor Emeritus of English at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Biography

Algeo was born in St Louis,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He joined the army and served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and became a sergeant. He married Adele Silbereisen in 1958. He earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

in 1955, and Master of Arts (1957) and Doctor of Philosophy (1960) degrees from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He was an instructor at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

from 1959 to 1961. He returned to the University of Florida in 1961 as an assistant professor of English, becoming an associate professor in 1966, assistant dean of the graduate school in 1969 and a full professor in 1970. Algeo moved to the

in 1971 as a professor of English. He was chair of the English department from 1975 until 1979. He became professor emeritus in 1994. John Algeo was national president of the Theosophical Society America in 1993, president of the American Dialect Society, 1979, president of the Dictionary Society of North America, 1995–97, president of the American Name Society, 1984, editor of '' American Speech'', 1969–82, and editor of ''Quest'' magazine, 1995. John Algeo died October 13, 2019, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Books

Linguistics and philology

* With Thomas Pyles. * With Ralph Williams, Judith Patton Hudson and Margaret Farcas. * * With

Randolph Quirk Charles Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk (12 July 1920 – 20 December 2017) was a British linguist and politician. He was the Quain Professor of English language and literature at University College London from 1968 to 1981. He sat as a crossbe ...

and Sidney Greenbaum. * * Editor. * Editor, with Adele S. Algeo. * Editor. * With Carmen Acevedo Butcher. * * *

Theosophy

* * Editor. * With Shirley Nicholson. * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Algeo, John 1930 births American Theosophists 2019 deaths 20th-century American linguists Historical linguists of English Lexicographers of English University of Miami School of Education alumni University of Florida alumni University of Florida faculty University of Georgia faculty