Merritt Yerkes Hughes (May 24, 1893 – May 12, 1971) Hughes was an expert in the literature of France, England and Italy. He was a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1925, the first year they were given.

Life

Hughes was born May 24, 1893, in Philadelphia; he received a bachelor's degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1915, a master's degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1918, a Ph.D. 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 higher le ...

in 1921 and a D.Litt. from the

in 1950. Starting in 1922 he was a professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He subsequently served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin from 1936 until his retirement in 1963. At the University of Wisconsin, he was the chairman of the English department for a tenure of ten years. In 1922, Hughes' "Study of Dante in France since 1870" divided the annual prize of the Dante Society of America. In 1929 Hughes had published a volume entitled ''Virgil and Spenser''. Amongst other works, he edited a compilation of the complete works of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

. Hughes died in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

on May 12, 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Merritt Yerkes 1893 births Educators from Philadelphia Boston University alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Harvard University alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty 1971 deaths