Charles Augustus de Kay (July 25, 1848 – May 23, 1935) was a linguist, poet, critic, and fencer. He was a son of

George Coleman De Kay George Coleman de Kay (1802 New York City – 31 January 1849 Washington, D.C.) was a naval officer. He was buried at St George's Church cemetery, Hempstead, New York. Biography He was prepared for college, but ran away to sea. He became a s ...

, a naval officer. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1868. He was best known for founding the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

, the

Authors' Club The Authors' Club is a British membership organisation established as a place where writers could meet and talk. It was founded by the novelist and critic Walter Besant in 1891. It is headquartered at the National Liberal Club. The Authors' Clu ...

, the National Arts Club and the Fencers Club. He was inducted into the

United States Fencing Hall of Fame The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...

in 2008. He was an art and literary critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' for 18 years. He was a co-founder of the

Circle of Friends of the Medallion Circle of Friends of the Medallion was formed by Charles DeKay, Robert Hewitt, Jr., and the French-American trio of Jules Edouard Roiné with brothers Felix and Henri Weil, all living in New York City.Johnson, D. Wayne"Circle of Friends of the Medal ...

.Homren, Wayne (editor)
"Numismatic Writer Charles De Kay"
''The E-Sylum'', volume 5, number 43, October 27, 2002, Article 4. Retrieved August 29, 2021. He also wrote under the pseudonym Henry Eckford. In June 1894, he was nominated by

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

to be Consul General at Berlin and took over the post shortly thereafter. In keeping with his lifelong love of fencing, he had the honor of opening the fencing club in Berlin while serving as Consul General. He was buried in Saint George's Church Cemetery,

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

Writing

*''The Bohemian'' (New York, 1878) *''Hesperus'' (1880) *''Vision of Nimrod'' (1881) *''Vision of Esther'' (1882) *''Love Poems of Louis Barnaval'' (1883). *''Bird Gods,'' with an accompaniment of decorations by George Wharton Edwards. New York : A.S. Barnes (1898).De Kay 1898: (see also: etc.)
digital copy
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

digital copy
at University of Michigan. *''Life and Works of Barye'' *''Life and Works of Louis Comfort Tiffany'' According to '' Appletons' Cyclopædia'' (1900), his best-known story is "Manmatha".

References

External links

* * / *
Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: an artist's country estate
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on DeKay {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekay, Charles 1848 births 1935 deaths American male fencers Critics employed by The New York Times Journalists from Washington, D.C. Yale College alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters