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

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

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

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He was the founder of '' The Germanic Review'', former President of the AATG and President of the MLA. Fife wrote on

German history The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

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

, and

German romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...

and edited works by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

, 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 Romanticism, Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck w ...

Life and career

Robert Herndon Fife Jr. was born to Robert H. Fife, a farmer, and Sarah Strickler in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

, 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 recorded ...

classical school in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Fife received his B.A. and M.A. from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He went on to earn his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), 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 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

in Germany in 1901 under the direction of

Eduard Sievers Eduard Sievers (; 25 November 1850 – 30 March 1932) was a German 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 influential historical ...

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

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) 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. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

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 ...

(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, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

(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 '' The Germanic Review'' 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 "str ...

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 1,600 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educati ...

. 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

, and the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Besides his university activities, Fife was a

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

of the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane, trustee of the Montclair Academy 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 (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Honors

Fife was an Honorary Member of AATG in the 1950s. He received an Honorary Doctor 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 (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

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

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

in 1949., an Honorary doctor of letters from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1949 and an honorary degree from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

, 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'', (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 Wesleyan University faculty Columbia University Department of German faculty American academics of German literature Presidents of the Modern Language Association