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Chester Noyes Greenough

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Chester Noyes Greenough
Born(1874-06-29)June 29, 1874
DiedFebruary 27, 1938(1938-02-27) (aged 63)
EducationHarvard University (BA, MA, PhD)
OccupationAcademic
Spouses
Marietta McPherson
(died 1925)
Ruth Hornblower Atkins
(m. 1931)

Chester Noyes Greenough (June 29, 1874 – February 27, 1938) was a Professor of English and Dean at Harvard University.

Biography

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Chester Noyes Greenough was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S., on June 29, 1874.[1] He graduated from Harvard College in 1898, received his master's degree in 1899 and his doctorate in 1904, both from Harvard University. He taught at Harvard briefly before becoming head of the English Department at the University of Illinois in 1907. He returned to Harvard as Assistant Professor of English in 1910 and became Professor of English in 1915.[2]

While serving a two-year term as acting Dean of Harvard College from 1919 to 1921, he played a principal role in Harvard's purge of homosexuals known as the Secret Court of 1920.[3]

He held the post of Dean from 1921 to 1927.[2] He became the first Master of Dunster House, a Harvard student residence, serving from 1930 to 1934.

One of his publications, History of Literature in America, which he authored with Barrett Wendell, became a popular textbook.[4]

He married twice. His first wife, Marietta McPherson, died in 1925. He married Ruth Hornblower Atkins, who survived him, in 1931. He died in Belmont, Massachusetts, on February 27, 1938.[2]

Greenough Hall, a Harvard dormitory, is named for him.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Alumni Quarterly of the University of Illinois. Vol. I. October 1907. p. 237. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d The New York Times: "C. N. Greenough, 64, Ex-Harvard Dean", p. 15, February 28, 1938], accessed December 18, 2009 (subscription required)
  3. ^ Harvard Crimson: "Master of Dunster House," November 26, 1929, accessed July 21, 2012
  4. ^ Chester Noyes Greenough, History of Literature in America (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904), authored with Barrett Wendell