Thomas Ollive Mabbott
Encyclopedia
Thomas Ollive Mabbott was an American
professor and scholar of literature
, perhaps best known for his research on writer Edgar Allan Poe
. He has also done studies on John Milton
, Walt Whitman
, Thomas Chatterton
, and Edward Coote Pinkney
.
Mabbott was born and raised in New York City. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University
, earning his AB (1920), AM (1921), and Ph.D. (1923) in English
. After graduating from Columbia, Mabbott taught English literature and composition at Northwestern University
. In 1928, he left Northwestern to teach at Brown
. He was there for one year before accepting a position at Hunter College
in New York City. Mabbott remained at Hunter as a professor of English and research scholar until 1966. His final two years were spent as a visiting professor at St. John's University
.
He may be best remembered as an expert on Poe, whose works he was in the process of compiling when he died on May 15, 1968, at the age of 69. During his studies, he identified some poetry
of Poe originally published anonymously as well as never published manuscripts. His wife took over the project after his death and saw it through to completion.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professor and scholar of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, perhaps best known for his research on writer Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. He has also done studies on John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton was an English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry. He died of arsenic poisoning, either from a suicide attempt or self-medication for a venereal disease.-Childhood:...
, and Edward Coote Pinkney
Edward Coote Pinkney
Edward Coote Pinkney was an American poet, lawyer, sailor, professor, and editor. Born in London in 1802, Pinkney made his way to Maryland. After attending college, he joined the United States Navy and traveled throughout the Mediterranean and elsewhere...
.
Mabbott was born and raised in New York City. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, earning his AB (1920), AM (1921), and Ph.D. (1923) in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. After graduating from Columbia, Mabbott taught English literature and composition at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. In 1928, he left Northwestern to teach at Brown
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. He was there for one year before accepting a position at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York City. Mabbott remained at Hunter as a professor of English and research scholar until 1966. His final two years were spent as a visiting professor at St. John's University
St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
.
He may be best remembered as an expert on Poe, whose works he was in the process of compiling when he died on May 15, 1968, at the age of 69. During his studies, he identified some poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
of Poe originally published anonymously as well as never published manuscripts. His wife took over the project after his death and saw it through to completion.