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Robert Herndon Fife Jr.

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Robert Herndon Fife Jr.
BornNovember 18, 1871(1871-11-18)
Charlottesville, Virginia,U.S.
DiedJanuary 8, 1958(1958-01-09)(aged 86)
TitleGebhard Professor of German
Spouse
​
(m.1913)​
Academic background
Education
Doctoral advisor
Academic work
Discipline
Sub-discipline
Institutions
Notable students

Robert Herndon Fife Jr.(November 18, 1871 – January 8, 1958) was an American academic who specialized inGerman studiesand served as Gebhard Professor of German and Chair of the German Department atColumbia University.He was the founder ofThe Germanic Review,former President of theAATGand President of theMLA.Fife wrote onGerman history,German languageandliterature,Martin Luther,andGerman romanticismand edited works byHeinrich Heine,E. T. A. HoffmannandLudwig Tieck.

Life and career

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Robert Herndon Fife Jr. was born to Robert H. Fife, a farmer, and Sarah Strickler inCharlottesville,Virginia on November 18, 1871. He grew up with three sisters and three brothers[1]and attended the Jones School, aprivateclassicalschool inVirginia.[2]

Fife received hisB.A.andM.A.from theUniversity of Virginia,where he was a member ofPhi Beta Kappa.He went on to earn hisdoctorateat theUniversity of Leipzigin Germany in 1901 under the direction ofEduard SieversandAlbert Köster.Fife was a German teacher at St. Alban's School inRadford,VA (1895-1898) before continuing studies atGöttingenandLeipzigfrom 1898 to 1901.

Fife's first position at an institution of higher education was as an instructor of German atWestern Reserve University(1901-1903). From 1903 to 1905, he taught at the summer school at theUniversity of Virginiaprior to becoming an associate professor atWesleyan University(1903-1905). At Wesleyan University, he remained a Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Language and Literature until 1920.[3][4]After staying at Wesleyan University, Fife replacedCalvin Thomasas a professor of German atColumbia Universityin 1920[5]and upon his appointment at Columbia, received the Gebhard Professorship.[6]

Fife became chair of the German department at Columbia University, foundedThe Germanic Reviewin 1926, and became the journal's first executive editor from 1926 to 1946.[7]From 1927 to 1929, Fife was the associate dean of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science at Columbia.[8]

Fife served as president of theModern Language Associationin 1944[9]and president of theAATGin 1932.[10]Fife also served as the chairman of the Committee on Modern Language Teaching of theAmerican Council on Education.[11]From 1919 to 1920, Fife was the president of Connecticut State Board of Charities.[12]Fife was also a member of the Germanistic Society of America, theVirginia Historical Society,theAmerican Council on Education,and theAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation.[13]

Besides his university activities, Fife was atrusteeof the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane, trustee of theMontclair Academyin 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.[14]

Fife was first married toSarah Gildersleeve Fife,a prominent bibliophile andhorticultureleader, 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, inBrooklyn, New York.[15]

Honors

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Fife was an Honorary Member ofAATGin the 1950s.[16]He received anHonorary Doctorof Humane Letters fromWesleyan Universityin 1920,[17]an Honorary Degree fromColumbia University,Litt.D. in 1929, an Honorary Degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania,Litt.D. in 1946,[18]an Honorary doctor of letters fromWashington and Lee Universityin 1949.,[19]an Honorary doctor of letters fromPrinceton Universityin 1949 and an honorary degree fromMiddlebury College,LittD. in 1955.[20]

Bibliography

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Authored works

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  • 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

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  • Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:Die Harzreise,(New York, H. Holt and company, 1912), also byHeinrich Heine.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:Die Harzreise und Buch Le Grand,(New York, H. Holt and Company, 1912), byHeinrich Heine.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon, ed.:Meister Martin der küfner und seine gesellen.(New York, H. Holt and company, 1908), also byE. 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)

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  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "I.—Jean Paul Friedrich Richter and ETA Hoffmann."PMLA22, no. 1 (1907): 1-32.
  • Fife Jr, Robert Herndon. "The German Romantic" Märchen "."Modern Philology9, no. 2 (1911): 239-257.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Scholarship in the Secondary School."The Modern Language Journal8, no. 4 (1924): 221–226.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Place of Biography in German Literary History."Germanic Review2 (1927): 119.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Some New Paths in Teaching German."The German Quarterly1, no. 1 (1928): 7–17.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Reading Objective."The German Quarterly2, 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 Review6, no. 3 (1931): 219.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "The Problem of Individual Freedom in the Humanists and in Goethe."Germanic Review7 (1932): 291.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Humanistic Currents in the Reformation Era."Germanic Review12 (1937): 75.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Epochs in German Literature."Germanic Review14 (1939): 87.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Nationalism and Scholarship."PMLA59, no. S1 (1944): 1282–1294.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "Ulrich von Hutten as a Literary Problem."The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory23, no. 1 (1948): 18–29.
  • Fife, Robert Herndon. "The basis of literary history."PMLA66, no. 1 (1951): 11–20.

References

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  1. ^Memorial History of John Bowie Strange Camp, United Confederate Veterans.Michie Company. 1920. p. 109.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  2. ^König, Christoph; Wägenbaur, Birgit (2003).Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950.De Gruyter. p. 489.
  3. ^Harvey Gildersleeve, Williard (1914).Gildersleeves of Gildersleeve, Conn And Descendants of Philip Gildersleeve.Press of the Journal Publishing Company. p. 56.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  4. ^Columbia Alumni News, Volume 11.1919. pp. 277–278.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  5. ^"Condensed Telegrams".Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Norwich Bulletin. Jan 30, 1920.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  6. ^"COLUMBIA CALLS PROF. FIFE.; Noted Scholar Appointed Gebhard Professor of German".The New York Times.31 January 1920.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  7. ^"Archival Collections: Summary Information".Columbia University Libraries.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  8. ^König, Christoph; Wägenbaur, Birgit (2003).Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950.De Gruyter. p. 489.
  9. ^"The One Hundred Thirty Two Presidents".MLA.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  10. ^"Front Matter".The German Quarterly.V(2): i–ii. March 1932.JSTOR400879.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  11. ^Education pamphlets, Volume 72.Amherst College. 1924. p. 13.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  12. ^"In the Limelight".No. January 31, 1920. The Washington Herald Company. The Washington Herald.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  13. ^König, Christoph; Wägenbaur, Birgit (2003).Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950.De Gruyter. p. 490.
  14. ^Columbia Alumni News, Volume 12.New York: Columbia University Libraries. 1920. p. 147.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  15. ^König, Christoph; Wägenbaur, Birgit (2003).Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950.De Gruyter. p. 489.
  16. ^"Back Matter".The German Quarterly.23(3): 199–212. May 1950.JSTOR401268.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  17. ^Catalogue.Wesleyan University. 1916. p. 172.
  18. ^"Honorary Degree Recipients".University of Pennsylvania.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  19. ^"Honorary Degrees".Washington and Lee University.RetrievedSeptember 19,2022.
  20. ^König, Christoph; Wägenbaur, Birgit (2003).Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950.De Gruyter. p. 489.
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