Robert Herndon Fife Jr. (November 18, 1871 – January 8, 1958) was an American academic who specialized in

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

and served as Gebhard Professor of German and Chair of the German Department 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 ...

. He was the founder of ''

The Germanic Review ''The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge covering German studies, including German literature and culture, as well as German authors, intellectuals, and artists. Th ...

'', former President of the AATG and President of the MLA. Fife wrote on

German history The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gen ...

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

, and German romanticism and edited works by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

, E. T. A. Hoffmann and

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in Be ...

Life and career

Robert Herndon Fife Jr. was born to Reverend Robert H. Fife and Sarah Strickler in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

, Virginia on November 18, 1871. He grew up with three sisters and three brothers and attended the Jones School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

classical school in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Fife received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where he was a member of

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 a ...

. He went on to earn his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in Germany in 1901 under the direction of

Eduard Sievers Eduard Sievers (; 25 November 1850, Lippoldsberg – 30 March 1932, Leipzig) was a philologist of the classical and Germanic languages. Sievers was one of the ''Junggrammatiker'' of the so-called "Leipzig School". He was one of the most influent ...

and Albert Köster. Fife was a German teacher at St. Alban's School in Radford, VA (1895-1898) before continuing studies at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

from 1898 to 1901. Fife's first position at an institution of higher education was as an instructor of German at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

(1901-1903). From 1903 to 1905, he taught at the summer school at the

prior to becoming an associate professor at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

(1903-1905). At Wesleyan University, he remained a Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Language and Literature until 1920. After staying at Wesleyan University, Fife replaced Calvin Thomas as a professor of German at

in 1920 and upon his appointment at Columbia, received the Gebhard Professorship. Fife became chair of the German department at Columbia University, founded ''

'' in 1926, and became the journal's first executive editor from 1926 to 1946. From 1927 to 1929, Fife was the associate dean of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science at Columbia. Fife served as president of the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

in 1944 and president of the AATG in 1932. Fife also served as the chairman of the Committee on Modern Language Teaching of the

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education ...

. From 1919 to 1920, Fife was the president of Connecticut State Board of Charities. Fife was also a member of the Germanistic Society of America, the

Virginia Historical Society The Virginia Museum of History and Culture founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private, n ...

, the

, and the

American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swede ...

. Besides his university activities, Fife was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane, trustee of the

Montclair Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

in New Jersey, vice-president of the Connecticut State Conference of Charities and Corrections, and secretary of the Connecticut Child Welfare Association (1918-1920). Fife developed German courses during World War I with the War Department Committee on Education and Special Training. Fife was first married to Sarah Gildersleeve Fife, a prominent bibliophile and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

leader, from 1913 until death her death in 1949. They had no children together. Fife married his second wife, Hildegard E. Wichert, in 1952. Fife died on January 8, 1958, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Honors

Fife was an Honorary Member of AATG in the 1950s. He received an

Honorary Doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of Humane Letters from

in 1920, an Honorary Degree from

, Litt.D. in 1929, an Honorary Degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, Litt.D. in 1946, an Honorary doctor of letters from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

in 1949., an Honorary doctor of letters from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1949 and an honorary degree from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, LittD. in 1955.

Bibliography

Authored works

*Fife Robert Herndon. 1902. “Der Wortschatz Des Englischen Maundeville Nach Der Version Der Cotton Handschrift (Brit. Museum London) Titus C. Xvi.” Dissertation Dr. Seele. *Fife Robert Herndon. 1916. ''The German Empire between Two Wars; a Study of the Political and Social Development of the Nation between 1871 and 1914.'' New York: Macmillan Company. *Fife Robert Herndon. 1928. ''Young Luther: The Intellectual and Religious Development of Martin Luther to 1518.'' New York: Macmillan. *Fife Robert Herndon and Carnegie Corporation of New York. 1932. ''Report of Professor Robert Herndon Fife on Tendencies in Education in East and South Africa with Particular Reference to Language Questions.'' *Fife Robert Herndon. 1957. ''The Revolt of Martin Luther.'' New York NY: Columbia University Press.

Edited works

*Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:''

Die Harzreise ''Die Harzreise'' ("The Harz Journey") is a travel report by German poet and author Heinrich Heine on a journey to the Harz mountains. Compiled in autumn 1824, it was first published as a serial in January and February 1826 in the magazine ''Der ...

'', (New York, H. Holt and company, 1912), also by

. *Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:''Die Harzreise und Buch Le Grand'', (New York, H. Holt and Company, 1912), by

. *Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:''Meister Martin der küfner und seine gesellen''. (New York, H. Holt and company, 1908), also by E. T. A. Hoffmann. * Tieck Ludwig, Edwin H Zeydel, Percy Matenko Robert, Herndon Fife and Columbia University. 1937. ''Letters of Ludwig Tieck Hitherto Unpublished 1792-1853''. New York London: Modern language Association of America; Oxford University Press.

Articles (selection)

*Fife, Robert Herndon. "I.—Jean Paul Friedrich Richter and ETA Hoffmann." ''PMLA'' 22, no. 1 (1907): 1-32. *Fife Jr, Robert Herndon. "The German Romantic" Märchen"." ''Modern Philology'' 9, no. 2 (1911): 239-257. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Scholarship in the Secondary School." ''The Modern Language Journal'' 8, no. 4 (1924): 221–226. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Place of Biography in German Literary History." ''Germanic Review'' 2 (1927): 119. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Some New Paths in Teaching German." ''The German Quarterly'' 1, no. 1 (1928): 7–17. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Reading Objective." ''The German Quarterly'' 2, no. 3 (1929): 73–87. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages: A National Survey." The Journal of Educational Research 23, no. 4 (1931): 296–307. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "GERMAN IN LUTHER'S EARLY LECTURES." ''Germanic Review'' 6, no. 3 (1931): 219. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Problem of Individual Freedom in the Humanists and in Goethe." ''Germanic Review'' 7 (1932): 291. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Humanistic Currents in the Reformation Era." ''Germanic Review'' 12 (1937): 75. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Epochs in German Literature." ''Germanic Review'' 14 (1939): 87. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Nationalism and Scholarship." ''PMLA'' 59, no. S1 (1944): 1282–1294. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "Ulrich von Hutten as a Literary Problem." ''The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory'' 23, no. 1 (1948): 18–29. *Fife, Robert Herndon. "The basis of literary history." ''PMLA'' 66, no. 1 (1951): 11–20.

References

External links

Online Books
of Robert Herndon Fife (1871-1958) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fife Jr., Robert Herndon 1871 births 1958 deaths University of Virginia alumni Leipzig University alumni German literature academics Germanists Literary scholars Wesleyan University faculty Columbia University faculty Columbia University Department of German faculty Professors of German in the United States Presidents of the Modern Language Association