George Alfred Kolkhorst
Encyclopedia
George Alfred Kolkhorst (1897–1958) was an Oxford
don.
Kolkhorst was a member of Exeter College, Oxford
. He was appointed University
Lecturer in Spanish
in 1921 and Reader in Spanish in 1931, holding office until his death in 1958. He used to wear a cube of sugar on a string around his neck "to sweeten my conversation", and was universally known among Oxford undergraduates as "Colonel" Kolkhorst — allegedly because he looked and behaved so utterly unlike a colonel.
His immortality is guaranteed by his friendship with John Betjeman
, in whose verse autobiography Summoned by Bells
Kolkhorst is affectionately recollected.
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...
don.
Kolkhorst was a member of Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
. He was appointed University
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...
Lecturer in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in 1921 and Reader in Spanish in 1931, holding office until his death in 1958. He used to wear a cube of sugar on a string around his neck "to sweeten my conversation", and was universally known among Oxford undergraduates as "Colonel" Kolkhorst — allegedly because he looked and behaved so utterly unlike a colonel.
His immortality is guaranteed by his friendship with John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, in whose verse autobiography Summoned by Bells
Summoned by Bells
Summoned by Bells, the blank verse autobiography by John Betjeman, describes his life from his early memories of a middle class home in Edwardian Hampstead, London, to his premature departure from Magdalen College, Oxford....
Kolkhorst is affectionately recollected.
External links
- Kolkhorst and Arteaga Exhibitions in Spanish 2005–6, Oxford University GazetteOxford University GazetteThe Oxford University Gazette is the publication of record for the University of Oxford in England, used for official announcements, etc. It is published weekly during term time....
(17 November 2005) - Judith Priestman, 'The dilettante and the dons', Oxford TodayOxford TodayOxford Today: The University Magazine is a magazine for the alumni of Oxford University.According to its website, the magazine is distributed free to around 150,000 alumni around the world and also by subscription. It appears three times a year, with the issues coinciding with the three Oxford...
vol. 18, no. 3 (Trinity 2006) - Charles Saumarez Smith, 'Always from the heart', The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
(Sunday August 6, 2006) - Tournai Tapestry, Maritime Museum, Portugal
- 'Yarnton: Manor and other estates', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock (1990), pp. 475–478
- Brooke Allen, 'Betjeman: a "whim of iron"', The New Criterion, vol. 23, no. 7 (March 2005)
- R. M. Healey, 'Best Of British', Rare Book Review