Regius Professor of English Language and Literature, Glasgow
Encyclopedia
The Regius Chair of English Language and Literature at the University of Glasgow
was founded in 1861 by Queen Victoria
, and is the only Regius Professor
ship in the Faculty of Arts.
, and son of John Pringle Nichol
, former Regius Professor of Astronomy
at the University. Nichol had formerly been a coach at the University of Oxford
, where along with A. V. Dicey
, Vinerian Professor of English Law
, philosopher Thomas Hill Green
and poet Algernon Charles Swinburne
he formed the Old Mortality Society, a literary discussion society. Whilst at Glasgow, Nichol maintained his strong reputation in literary criticism, lecturing at the same time at Oxford as well as tutoring privately across the country. He was also a supporter of the higher education of women
. He left the Chair in 1889 and died in 1894. In 1985, the Nichol Prize for the most distinguished woman student in the Ordinary class of English Literature was founded by his sister, Lucy Jack.
Nichol was succeeded in 1889 by Andrew Cecil Bradley, a highly respected literary critic and noted scholar of Shakespeare
, and brother of philosopher Francis Bradley
. Bradley had studied at Balliol College, Oxford
, and was at the time of his appointment a lecturer at University College Liverpool, now the University of Liverpool
. In 1892, Bradley described his Glasgow students as "a set of savages whom it is a loathsome drudgery to teach," although he remained at the University until 1900, and in 1901 was elected Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford
. He delivered the 1907-1908 Gifford Lectures
at the University. The Bradley Chair of English Literature was named after him, and his name was placed on the Memorial Gates
erected to mark the University's quincentenary in 1951.
The Gifford Lectures, a series of which Bradley delivered at the University, were instituted by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford, and it was his nephew, Walter Raleigh
, who succeeded Bradley in the Regius Chair in 1900. Raleigh had studied at University College London
and King's College, Cambridge
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union
, and was appointed the first Professor of English Literature at the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College
in Aligarh, India
. He then worked as Professor of Modern Literature at University College, Liverpool
before being appointed to the Regius Chair in 1900. He remained in the Chair for only four years, being appointed Merton Professor of English Literature
in 1904. He was knighted in 1911.
In 1904, the celebrated Scottish author, William Macneile Dixon
, was appointed to the Chair. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin
and had previously been Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham
. He was succeeded in 1935 by Peter Alexander, who had been the Queen Margaret Lecturer in English Literature. He retired in 1963 and was awarded a CBE
in 1964. In 1965, Peter Butter was appointed to the Chair, having previously been Professor of English at Queen's University Belfast. He retired in 1986 and was succeeded in 1990 by Alexander Prickett. Prickett was a Fulbright Scholar
in 1979 and has taught at a number of institutions including the University of Sussex
, University of Minnesota
and Australian National University
, Canberra
. He retired in 2001. In 2004, Nigel Leask, Reader in Romantic Literature at the University of Cambridge
, was appointed to the Chair.
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
was founded in 1861 by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, and is the only Regius Professor
Regius Professor
Regius Professorships are "royal" professorships at the ancient universities of the United Kingdom and Ireland - namely Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin. Each of the chairs was created by a monarch, and each appointment, save those at Dublin, is approved by the...
ship in the Faculty of Arts.
History
The first professor appointed was John Nichol, a graduate of the University and Snell Exhibitioner at Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and son of John Pringle Nichol
John Pringle Nichol
John Pringle Nichol FRSE was a Scottish educator, astronomer and economist who did much to popularise astronomy in a manner that appealed to nineteenth century tastes.-Early life:...
, former Regius Professor of Astronomy
Regius Professor of Astronomy, Glasgow
The Regius Chair of Astronomy is a Regius Professorship in the University of Glasgow.Founded in 1760 with the title Practical Astronomy the title was changed in 1893.-History:...
at the University. Nichol had formerly been a coach at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where along with A. V. Dicey
A. V. Dicey
- References :...
, Vinerian Professor of English Law
Vinerian Professor of English Law
The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, to establish a Professorship of the Common Law...
, philosopher Thomas Hill Green
Thomas Hill Green
Thomas Hill Green was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influenced by the metaphysical historicism of G.W.F. Hegel...
and poet Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
he formed the Old Mortality Society, a literary discussion society. Whilst at Glasgow, Nichol maintained his strong reputation in literary criticism, lecturing at the same time at Oxford as well as tutoring privately across the country. He was also a supporter of the higher education of women
Queen Margaret College (Glasgow)
Queen Margaret College was a women-only higher education institution based in North Park House in Glasgow, Scotland.It was established in 1868 by the Association for the Higher Education of Women, as women were not at the time permitted to study at universities in Scotland. The College was named...
. He left the Chair in 1889 and died in 1894. In 1985, the Nichol Prize for the most distinguished woman student in the Ordinary class of English Literature was founded by his sister, Lucy Jack.
Nichol was succeeded in 1889 by Andrew Cecil Bradley, a highly respected literary critic and noted scholar of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, and brother of philosopher Francis Bradley
F. H. Bradley
Francis Herbert Bradley, OM, was a British idealist philosopher.- Life :Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England . He was the child of Charles Bradley, an evangelical preacher, and Emma Linton, Charles's second wife. A. C. Bradley was his brother...
. Bradley had studied at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and was at the time of his appointment a lecturer at University College Liverpool, now the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. In 1892, Bradley described his Glasgow students as "a set of savages whom it is a loathsome drudgery to teach," although he remained at the University until 1900, and in 1901 was elected Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford
Oxford Professor of Poetry
The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual academic appointment, now held for a term of five years, and chosen through an election open to all members of Convocation, namely, all graduates and current academics of the university; in 2010, on-line voting was allowed....
. He delivered the 1907-1908 Gifford Lectures
Gifford Lectures
The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
at the University. The Bradley Chair of English Literature was named after him, and his name was placed on the Memorial Gates
University of Glasgow Memorial Gates
The Memorial Gates at the University of Glasgow were erected in 1952 as a celebration of the University's quincentenary, or five hundredth anniversary. They form a portal through the University Avenue side of the perimeter fence around the University's original site on Gilmorehill...
erected to mark the University's quincentenary in 1951.
The Gifford Lectures, a series of which Bradley delivered at the University, were instituted by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford, and it was his nephew, Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh (professor)
Professor Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh was an English scholar, poet and author.He was born in London, the fifth child and only son of a local Congregationalist minister...
, who succeeded Bradley in the Regius Chair in 1900. Raleigh had studied at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he was President of the Cambridge Union
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
, and was appointed the first Professor of English Literature at the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
in Aligarh, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He then worked as Professor of Modern Literature at University College, Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
before being appointed to the Regius Chair in 1900. He remained in the Chair for only four years, being appointed Merton Professor of English Literature
Merton Professors
There are two Merton Professorships of English in the University of Oxford: the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, and the Merton Professor of English Literature. The second was created in 1914 when Sir Walter Raleigh's chair was renamed...
in 1904. He was knighted in 1911.
In 1904, the celebrated Scottish author, William Macneile Dixon
William Macneile Dixon
William Macneile Dixon was a British author and academic.Dixon was born in India, the only son of the Reverend William Dixon. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was twice Vice-Chancellor's Prizeman in English verse, Downes' Prizeman, and Elrington Prizeman, and graduated First-Class,...
, was appointed to the Chair. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
and had previously been Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. He was succeeded in 1935 by Peter Alexander, who had been the Queen Margaret Lecturer in English Literature. He retired in 1963 and was awarded a CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1964. In 1965, Peter Butter was appointed to the Chair, having previously been Professor of English at Queen's University Belfast. He retired in 1986 and was succeeded in 1990 by Alexander Prickett. Prickett was a Fulbright Scholar
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
in 1979 and has taught at a number of institutions including the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. He retired in 2001. In 2004, Nigel Leask, Reader in Romantic Literature at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, was appointed to the Chair.
Regius Professors of English Language and Literature
- 1862-1889: John Nichol
- 1889-1900: A. C. Bradley
- 1900-1904: Sir Walter RaleighWalter Raleigh (professor)Professor Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh was an English scholar, poet and author.He was born in London, the fifth child and only son of a local Congregationalist minister...
- 1904-1935: William Macneile DixonWilliam Macneile DixonWilliam Macneile Dixon was a British author and academic.Dixon was born in India, the only son of the Reverend William Dixon. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was twice Vice-Chancellor's Prizeman in English verse, Downes' Prizeman, and Elrington Prizeman, and graduated First-Class,...
- 1935-1963: Peter Alexander
- 1965-1986: Peter Herbert Butter
- 1990-2001: Alexander Prickett
- 2004-present: Nigel Leask