Howard Mumford Jones
Encyclopedia
For the Louisiana state senator
, see Howard M. Jones (Louisiana politician)
.
Howard Mumford Jones (April 16, 1892 - May 11, 1980) was a U.S. writer, literary critic, and professor of English
at Harvard University
.
Jones was the book editor for The Boston Evening Transcript
.
Howard Jones was born in Saginaw, Michigan
. Before going to Harvard, Jones was a member of the English faculty at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
, North Carolina
. In 1925, while there, he approached the president of the university, Harry Woodburn Chase, lamenting the absence of a bookstore in the town of Chapel Hill, and offered to open one in his office. This eventually became the Bull's Head Bookshop, now located in Student Stores.
In February, 1954 Mr. Jones gave the dedicatory address at the opening of the addition to the University of Wisconsin Library, entitled: "Books and the Independent Mind." The Crux of his comments was perhaps contained in his midpoint comment: "While it is true that we in this nation remain free to be idiotic, it does not necessarily follow, that we must be idiotic, in order to be free!" In 1965 he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
for O Strange New World: American Culture-The Formative Years
. He also authored Belief and Disbelief in American Literature (1967) and The Age of Energy (1971), and many scholarly journal articles.
The Howard Mumford Jones Professorship of American Studies
in the Department of History, Harvard University, was named in his honor.
Among Jones' students at Harvard was Betty Miller Unterberger
, later the first woman professor at Texas A&M University
and the first woman president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
. Jones had much impact on Unterberger, having introduced her to the technical advantages of having a dictaphone
in her historical writing. He had also urged her to marry Robert Unterberger, who is a retired professor of geophysics at TAMU.
Louisiana State Senate
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All Senators serve four year terms and are assigned multiple committees to work on. The Republicans control the State Senate following a Special Election Victory in District 26 by Jonathan W. Perry...
, see Howard M. Jones (Louisiana politician)
Howard M. Jones (Louisiana politician)
Howard M. Jones was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, who served two terms from 1960 to 1968....
.
Howard Mumford Jones (April 16, 1892 - May 11, 1980) was a U.S. writer, literary critic, and professor of 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 Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Jones was the book editor for The Boston Evening Transcript
Boston Evening Transcript
The Boston Evening Transcript was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.-Beginnings:...
.
Howard Jones was born in Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
. Before going to Harvard, Jones was a member of the English faculty at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. In 1925, while there, he approached the president of the university, Harry Woodburn Chase, lamenting the absence of a bookstore in the town of Chapel Hill, and offered to open one in his office. This eventually became the Bull's Head Bookshop, now located in Student Stores.
In February, 1954 Mr. Jones gave the dedicatory address at the opening of the addition to the University of Wisconsin Library, entitled: "Books and the Independent Mind." The Crux of his comments was perhaps contained in his midpoint comment: "While it is true that we in this nation remain free to be idiotic, it does not necessarily follow, that we must be idiotic, in order to be free!" In 1965 he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
for O Strange New World: American Culture-The Formative Years
O Strange New World
O Strange New World: American Culture-The Formative Years was written by Howard Mumford Jones and published by Viking Press in 1964; it won the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction....
. He also authored Belief and Disbelief in American Literature (1967) and The Age of Energy (1971), and many scholarly journal articles.
The Howard Mumford Jones Professorship of American Studies
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
in the Department of History, Harvard University, was named in his honor.
Among Jones' students at Harvard was Betty Miller Unterberger
Betty Miller Unterberger
Betty Miller Unterberger is a retired historian, who as professor of American international relations spent the bulk of her extensive academic career at Texas A&M University...
, later the first woman professor at Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
and the first woman president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations is the leading learned society for the academic study of the history of United States foreign policy....
. Jones had much impact on Unterberger, having introduced her to the technical advantages of having a dictaphone
Dictaphone
Dictaphone was an American company, a producer of dictation machines—sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later playback or to be typed into print. The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, but in some places it has also become a common way to refer to all such devices, and...
in her historical writing. He had also urged her to marry Robert Unterberger, who is a retired professor of geophysics at TAMU.