Clarence G. Child
{{Infobox academic
|name = Clarence G. Child
|image = Clarence G. Child.png
|image_size = 150
|alt = Child pictured in about 1900
|caption = Child pictured in about 1900
|birth_name = Clarence Griffin Child
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1864|03|22}}
|birth_place = Newport, Rhode Island
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1948|09|20|1864|03|22}}
|death_place = Norristown, Pennsylvania
|nationality = American
|occupation = Educator & scholar
|known_for = dean of the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania
|spouse = Elizabeth Reynolds
|children =
|awards = L.H.D. (hon) Trinity (1902)
LL.D. (hon) Pennsylvania (1930)
|education = B.A. Trinity (1886)
M.A. Trinity (1891)
Ph.D. Johns Hopkins (1895)
|discipline = English literature
|sub_discipline = Medieval literature
}}
Clarence Griffin Child (March 22, 1864 – September 20, 1948) was an American educator, scholar of medieval literature, and hobbyist mathematician who served as dean of the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania.
Early life and education
Born in Newport, Rhode Island, to Rev. William Spencer Child and Jessie Isabella Davis, Child received his undergraduate education at Trinity College, Connecticut, where he was initiated into Psi Upsilon and elected to Phi Beta Kappa.{{cite news|title=Clarence Griffin Child|url=http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=reporter|accessdate=February 17, 2018|work=Trinity College Bulletin|publisher=Trinity College|date=March 1949}} He went on to complete a master's degree at Trinity, remaining there briefly afterwards to teach mathematics, which was his long-time hobby.{{cite book|last1=Chamberlain|first1=Joshua|title=University of Pennsylvania: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics; with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni, Volume 1|date=1901|publisher=R. Herndon Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/universityofpenn01cham/page/471 471]–472|location=Philadelphia|url=https://archive.org/details/universityofpenn01cham}} He subsequently studied at the University of Munich and Johns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. from the latter university where his dissertation focused on the use of palatal sounds in Old English.{{cite news|title=Dr. Child, Educator, Dies|page=19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/174429666|accessdate=February 17, 2018|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 21, 1948}}{{subscription required}}
Career
In 1896 Child was appointed an instructor in English at the University of Pennsylvania and, from 1904 to 1907, served as dean of Pennsylvania's graduate school. As a professor of English his popular lectures were known for their animated "histrionics and pantomime". Child's 1904 translation of Beowulf, published by Houghton Mifflin for reading by children and the general public, was described by the Sewanee Review as of a "literary quality which is rare in work of this character".{{cite news|page=10|title=The Field of Literature|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118501874|accessdate=February 17, 2018|work=Wilkes Barre Times-Leader|date=February 17, 1904}}{{subscription required}}{{cite journal|title=Review: Professor Child's Translation of "Beowulf."|journal=Sewanee Review|date=October 1904|volume=12|issue=4|pages=504–505|jstor=27530656}}
Child was an assistant editor of the New Worcester's Dictionary, served on the executive committee of the Simplified Spelling Board, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society.{{cite journal|title=Sixth Annual Meeting|journal=Simplified Spelling Bulletin|date=June 1912|volume=4|issue=1|page=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_ZWAAAAMAAJ}}{{cite journal|last1=Goodspeed|first1=Arthur|title=The American Philosophical Society|journal=Science|date=June 21, 1918|volume=47|issue=1225|page=618|jstor=1641607|doi=10.1126/science.47.1225.617 |pmid=17730975|bibcode=1918Sci....47..617G}} In 1902 he was given an honorary doctor of humane letters by Trinity College and was awarded an honorary doctor of letters by the University of Pennsylvania in 1930.{{cite news|page=11|title=Penn Degrees to Many Famous Men|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/291778650/|accessdate=February 17, 2018|work=News-Journal|date=July 10, 1930}}{{subscription required}}{{cite news|title=Educational Notes|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/59494102|accessdate=February 17, 2018|work=Lawrence Daily Journal|date=May 31, 1902|page=1}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web|title=Chronological Listing of Honorary Degrees|url=https://secure.www.upenn.edu/secretary/hondegchron.html#1930|website=upenn.edu|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|accessdate=February 17, 2018|archive-date=November 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116082112/https://secure.www.upenn.edu/secretary/hondegchron.html#1930|url-status=dead}} Child retired from active teaching in 1938 to occupy the university's John Walsh Centennial Chair of History and English Literature as emeritus professor of English.
Personal life
References
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External links
- [http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/Beowulf_Child.pdf Child translation of Beowulf]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=iW7NAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA103 Child's lecture The Natural History of Dragons]
- [https://www.english.upenn.edu/people/clarence-griffin-child list of doctoral dissertations supervised by Child]
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Category:Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty
Category:American academics of English literature