Frank Parker Day was a Canadian athlete, academic and author.

Since Day's father was a Methodist

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 minister who moved to a new congregation every three years, Day spent his youth living throughout Nova Scotia, living in Wallace

Wallace, Nova Scotia

Wallace is a Canadian rural community in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Originally called Remsheg, meaning "the place between" in the Mi'kmaq language. The homes of the Acadians who lived in the village were burned as part of the Bay of Fundy Campaign during the French and Indian War...

, Acadia Mines

Londonderry, Nova Scotia

Londonderry is an unincorporated community located in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada, formerly called Acadia Mines. A bustling iron ore mining and steel making town of some 5,000 in the late 19th century, the present population stands at around 200.-History:Londonderry saw the pouring of...

, Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay is a town located on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County.- History :...

, Boylston

Boylston, Nova Scotia

Boylston is a rural community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County. There is a provincial campground at Boylston....

, and Lockeport

Lockeport, Nova Scotia

Lockeport is a Canadian port, and fishing town in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.Lockeport is a traditional Nova Scotian fishing town, situated on an isthmus of land in Allendale Bay...

.

When he was seventeen, Day attended Pictou Academy

Pictou Academy

Pictou Academy , founded in 1816 by the late Dr. Thomas McCulloch, is a secondary school in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Prior to the twentieth century, it was a liberal nonsectarian college, a grammar school, an academy and then a secondary school. Pictou Academy's current principal is James Ryan. The...

 and from there went on to earn a BA from Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University is a primarily undergraduate Canadian liberal arts and science university situated in Sackville, New Brunswick. It is located about a half hour from the regional city of Moncton and 20 minutes from the Greater Moncton International Airport...

. He later won a Rhodes Scholarship

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...

, studying at Oxford University. Day was an athlete, and won the Oxford-Cambridge Heavyweight Championship. Returning to Canada, he embarked on an academic career, teaching English

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 at the University of New Brunswick

University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

, before being appointed president of Union College

Union College

Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...

 in Schenectady

Schenectady, New York

Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...

, New York.

Day served in the Canadian Army, where he played a crucial role in recruiting and training of the Cape Breton Highlanders

Cape Breton Highlanders

The Cape Breton Highlanders is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It was established in 1871, merged into The Nova Scotia Highlanders in 1954, and re-established as a distinct regiment in 2011....

. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel while on the battlefield of Amiens

Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

 in 1918.

His novel Rockbound

Rockbound

Rockbound is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day.-Overview:The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Surrounded by rich but dangerous fishing grounds, Rockbound is isolated by storms, fog and winter weather...

was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2005

Canada Reads

Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...

, championed by Donna Morrissey

Donna Morrissey

Donna Morrissey is a Canadian author.At age 16 Morrissey left her birthplace, The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places of Canada before returning to St. John's where she studied at Memorial University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Social Work,...

. Rockbound eventually won the competition.

External links

• Frank Parker Day bio at Union College website