Robert Pelton Sibley (March 26, 1879 - November 3, 1957) was an American academic and a headmaster of

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admissi ...

. Born in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

, Sibley graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1900. At commencement, he was awarded the Henry D. Hyde prize in oratory, a victory reported in ''

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 ...

''. From 1900 to 1902, he was the fiftieth head of school, or principal as the position was then known, of

. He was succeeded by

Frank Boyden Frank Learoyd Boyden (September 16, 1879 – April 25, 1972) was headmaster of Deerfield Academy from 1902 to 1968. Early life Boyden was born at his family's homestead in Foxborough, Massachusetts. His maternal grandfather was a missionary in ...

. In 1903, he graduated from

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 ...

with a Master of Arts degree. In 1907, he took up a post as an instructor in English at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

. From 1909 to 1920, he was professor of English language and literature at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

, where he also served as registrar. In his final year there, the University awarded him an honorary doctorate in humane letters. From 1920, he was a faculty member and secretary of

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 ...

's College of Agriculture. Six years later he was transferred to the

College of Arts and Sciences A College of Arts and Sciences or School of Arts and Sciences is most commonly an individual institution or a unit within a university that focuses on instruction of the liberal arts and pure sciences, although they frequently include programs and ...

. There he would serve as assistant dean, secretary of the university faculty, and chairman of the faculty committee on student affairs. In 1934, he became the second husband of Cora Billard Wickham, the widow of James Wickham. Sibley died at age 78 at his home in

New Suffolk, New York New Suffolk is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 349 at the 2010 census. History The submarine ...

. His death was noted by an obituary in ''The New York Times'', which remarked that he had "become known as a specialist in American fiction."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibley, Robert Pelton Heads of Deerfield Academy Columbia University alumni Amherst College alumni Cornell University faculty Ohio Wesleyan University faculty 1879 births 1957 deaths Lake Forest College faculty