2 Quotes & Sayings By Donald Culross Peattie
Don Culross Peattie was born in the town of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1883. He attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and graduated from Yale University in 1903. In 1906 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, until 1908, when he was discharged with the rank of sergeant
In 1910 he entered the department of English at Lake Forest College where he remained until 1917 when he went to Germany to study at Heidelberg University. At this time his work consisted mainly of translation into German of American and English classics and a few original works. In 1923 he returned to Lake Forest College as a professor of English and remained there for several years before going to Harvard University in 1926 as a member of its faculty.
During his twenty-four years at Harvard he taught courses on American literature, on English literature prior to 1660, on English literature from 1660 to 1890, and on American literature from 1890 to 1919. He served on numerous university committees dealing with university affairs and with many literary societies. In 1932 he began teaching at Princeton University for which position he remained until his retirement in 1944.
For a number of years Mr. Peattie was a member of the Rockefeller Foundation's Committee on Scholarly Publications in the United States and Canada and its Committee on Publications Abroad. He was a member of many literary societies including The Authors' Club, The Forum Club, The Harvard Society of Fellows (now Fellowcraft), The National Institute of Arts and Letters (1945), The World Affairs Council (1939-42), The Phi Beta Kappa Society (1936-38), and The American Academy of Arts and Letters (1935).
Mr. Peattie received an honorary doctorate from Lake Forest College in 1931 and from Princeton University in 1936; honorary degrees from Columbia University (1940), Notre Dame (1953), and Hobart College (1956); and numerous other honors from academic institutions throughout the country. His wife died in 1950; their sons are Donald S., who is president of Princeton; Robert L., who resides in San Francisco; Thomas G., who is president of Lake Forest College; and Charles C., who is an attorney in New York City.