William Allan Neilson (28 March 1869 – 1946) was a

Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish people, Scottish Americans are cl ...

educator, writer and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

, graduated in 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 1891 and became a PhD in

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 1898. He was 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 ...

between 1917 and 1939. Neilson was born in

Doune Doune (; from Scottish Gaelic: ''An Dùn'', meaning 'the fort') is a burgh within Perthshire. The town is administered by Stirling Council. Doune is assigned Falkirk postcodes starting "FK". The village lies within the parish of Kilmadock and mai ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and he emigrated to the United States in 1895, being naturalised 3 August 1905. He taught at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

from 1898 to 1900,

Harvard 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 ...

from 1900 to 1904, Columbia from 1904 to 1906, and Harvard again from 1906 to 1917. Neilson was author of a number of critical works on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

and the

Elizabethan theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. ...

, editor of the Cambridge and Tudor editions of Shakespeare (1906, 1911) and editor of ''

Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

'' (1934). Less known is his translation of the famous late 14th century Middle English alliterative chivalric romance ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''.

Works

''The Origins and Sources of the "Court of Love" ''
(1899) * ''Milton's Minor Poems'' (1909)
1919 edition

''Essentials of Poetry''
(1912) * with

Ashley Horace Thorndike Ashley Horace Thorndike (1871 – April 17, 1933) was an American educator and expert on William Shakespeare. He was the son of a clergyman Edward R Thorndike, and the brother of Lynn Thorndike, an American historian of medieval science and alchemy ...

The Facts About Shakespeare
(1913)
''Lectures on the Harvard Classics''
(1914)
Robert Burns, Project Gutenbergbooks.google
(1917)
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight (transl. by William Allan Neilson)
(1917) * with Ashley Horace Thorndike
''History of English Literature''
(1920)

External links

* * * * * Allison Lockwood,
Making of a president: Smith College's William Allan Neilson
" ''Daily Hampshire Gazette'', 8 May 2010.

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
Office of President William Allan Neilson files
at the

, Smith College Special Collections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, William Allan 1869 births 1946 deaths American lexicographers American literary critics Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish lexicographers Scottish literary critics Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Bryn Mawr College faculty Harvard University faculty Columbia University faculty People from Stirling (council area) Harvard University alumni Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Presidents of Smith College Presidents of the Modern Language Association

Works

Further reading

External links

References