Richard Leighton Greene (18 January 1904 – 23 December 1983) was an American literary scholar and musicologist. Born in Rochester on 18 January 1904, Greene attended the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, graduating with an AB in 1926; he then studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, completing an AM in 1927 and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

in 1929.''Directory of American Scholars'', vol. 2 (

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

, 1982), p. 273. Greene joined the teaching faculty at the University of Rochester in 1929 and was promoted to a full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

ship 1937 Joyce Purnick
"Dr. Richard L. Greene Dies at 79; Expert on English Medieval Carols"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 26 December 1983, p. 6. and to the Gilmore Professorship of English in 1942. In 1946, he moved to

Wells College Wells College was a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York, a village in the Finger Lakes region of the state. From its founding in 1868 until it became coeducational in 2005, Wells was a women's college. The college maintained acad ...

and served as its president until 1950. He then spent four years holding visiting professorships at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. In 1954, he joined the faculty at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

as a visiting professor; he was appointed to a full professorship in 1956 and to the Wilbur Fisk Osborne Professorship of English in 1969. He retired in 1972. He was a specialist in medieval English

carols A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). ...

; his books included ''The Early English Carols'' and ''A Selection of English Carols''. He died on 23 December 1983, aged 79.

References

1904 births 1983 deaths American literary historians University of Rochester alumni 20th-century American musicologists {{US-academic-bio-stub