John Donald Wade (September 28, 1892 – October 9, 1963) was an American biographer, author, essayist, and teacher.

Early life

Wade was born in

Marshallville, Georgia Marshallville is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,048 at the 2020 census, down from 1,448 in 2010. History Marshallville was founded in the 1820s. It was incorporated as a town in 1854 and as a city in 1953. ...

. His father was a country doctor who served as a surgeon in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Wade was descended from the first governor of Georgia, John Adam Treutlen. Wade received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1914. While a student there, he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

and was awarded

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. Wade later earned a master's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1915. Since Harvard didn't have a concentration in American literature at that time, Wade completed his Doctorate at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1924, studying under Dr. Trent. He served in

World War I 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 ...

Career

Wade was a teacher at the University of Georgia between 1919 and 1926 where he was a key founder of the graduate program in American literature. Wade developed an interest in biography and published ''Augustus Baldwin Longstreet: A Study in the Development of Culture in the South'' in 1925 and published a biography of Methodist Church leader John Wesley in 1930. His research for his Wesley biography was financed by a Guggenheim grant and took him to England to gather information. Wade researched and wrote 116 biographical sketches for the ''Dictionary of American Biography'' and served as an assistant editor for that work in 1927 and 1928. By 1930 Wade was teaching at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

as a member of the English faculty and became involved with the

Southern Agrarians The Southern Agrarians were twelve American Southerners who wrote an agrarian literary manifesto in 1930. They and their essay collection, ''I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition'', contributed to the Southern Renaissance, t ...

. Wade is probably best remembered for his contribution to the Agrarian manifesto ''I'll Take My Stand'', which was named by Wade and published that year. His contribution to the manifesto was "The Live and Death of Cousin Lucius," an exemplum of the Agrarian life. He also contributed to the Agrarian follow-up to "I"ll Take My Stand" with his essay "Of the Mean and Sure Estate." He returned to the University of Georgia to be the head of the Department of Language and Literature, a position he held for many years. In the 1930s and 1940s Wade wrote critical essays on Southern culture and biographical sketches of Southern literary and political figures that were published in learned journals such as the Virginia Quarterly. He also continued to support his agrarian ideals in his writing. In 1941 he co-edited ''Masterworks of World Literature''. In 1950 he retired from active teaching but continued to work as founding editor of ''The Georgia Review'' and was active in his local community, forming the Marshallville Foundation to foster his home town. He became a horticulturist and planted many gardens with plants from all over the world.

Death

Wade died on October 9, 1963 in Marshallville.

External links

John Donald Wade
at ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, John Donald 20th-century American biographers American book editors Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia faculty Vanderbilt University faculty University of Georgia alumni Harvard University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Southern Agrarians 1892 births 1963 deaths People from Macon County, Georgia Writers of American Southern literature