Herbert John Davis, FBA (24 May 1893 – 28 March 1967) was an English literary scholar and university administrator."Davis, Prof. Herbert John"
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2007). Retrieved 16 March 2021. Davis was educated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, where he read

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, graduating in 1914. After service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was appointed to a

lectureship Lecturer is an academic rank Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals ...

in English at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1920. Two years later, he moved to

University College, Toronto University College, popularly referred to as UC, is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, created in 1853 specifically as an institution of higher learning free of religious affiliation. It was the founding member of the university ...

, to be an associate

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

; he was guest professor at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

in the 1924–25 year, before returning to Toronto, where he was promoted to a full professorship in 1935. In 1938, he moved to

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 teach an ...

to chair the English department (in 1939, he also became

Goldwin Smith Professor Goldwin may refer to: Surname * Kyle Goldwin (born 1985), Gilbatarian footballer * Robert Goldwin (1922–2010), American political scientist *William Goldwin (c. 1682–1747), English schoolteacher and vicar First name * Goldwin Corlett Elgie (18 ...

there), but left in 1940 to become the fourth official president of

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, serving from 1940 to 1949, succeeding acting president

Elizabeth Cutter Morrow Elizabeth (Betty) Reeve Cutter Morrow (May 29, 1873 – January 24, 1955) was an American poet, champion of women's education, and influence on Mexican culture. She wrote several children's books and collections of poetry. She and her husband, amb ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he presided over the creation of America's first Officers' Training Unit of the Women's Reserve (also known as

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

). In 1949, he was appointed to a

readership Readership may refer to: * The group of readers of a particular publication or writer: their target audience * The total number of readers of a particular publication (newspaper, magazine, book), as proxy-measured by web/app views or print circulat ...

textual criticism Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he became a professor in 1956. He retired four years later, having been elected a

fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1954.

References

External links

*
Office of the President Herbert John Davis files
at the

Smith College Archives Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. The Smith College Archives document the life of the College by collecting mat ...

, Smith College Special Collections
Herbert John Davis personal papers
at the

, Smith College Special Collections 1967 deaths 1893 births Presidents of Smith College 20th-century American academics {{US-academic-administrator-stub

References

Further reading

External links