Tom Peete Cross
Encyclopedia
Tom Peete Cross was an American Celticist
and folklorist.
to pursue an M.A. (1906) and Ph.D. (1909). After receiving his Ph.D., he spent a year studying in Dublin, Ireland
, then returned to the United States in 1910 to take up a position as an instructor at Harvard. In 1911 he became the head of the English department at Sweet Briar College
. He later moved to the University of Chicago
, where he served as a professor of English and Comparative Literature until his retirement in 1945. He was a member of the Modern Language Association
and the American Council of the Irish Texts Society
.
's Folklore Series in 1952. Kenneth H. Jackson
praised it as "enormously comprehensive and so extremely useful". However, William Sayers would half a century later criticise it as being limited by its "original conceptual categories, where such modern notions as ideology, gender, physical aberrance, the abject and the like are absent". Another major work of his was A List of Books and Articles, Chiefly Bibliographical, Designed to Serve as an Introduction to the Bibliography and Methods of English Literary History, first published in 1919; it would go through numerous editions, renamed from the 7th onwards as the Bibliographical Guide to English Studies. Following his death it was expanded by Donald F. Bond as the Reference Guide to English Studies.
, Virginia
to Thomas Hardy Cross and Eleanor Elizabeth Wright. His father was a planter. He had one younger brother, Hardy Cross
, who would go on to achieve fame in the field of structural engineering
for his development of the moment distribution method
. He and his brother both did their preparatory education at Norfolk Academy
. Cross was married to Elizabeth Weathers Cross. He had two daughters, Ellen Elizabeth Cross and Evelyn Douglas Cross. The former married music scholar Storm Bull
in 1939. At the end of his career, he retired to a farm in Aylett, Virginia
, where he lived until his death. After his death, his wife moved to Boulder, Colorado
, where she lived with Bull and her daughter until her own death in 1957.
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
and folklorist.
Education and career
Cross did his undergraduate education at Hampden–Sydney College, receiving his B.A. in 1899. He went on to Harvard UniversityHarvard 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...
to pursue an M.A. (1906) and Ph.D. (1909). After receiving his Ph.D., he spent a year studying in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, then returned to the United States in 1910 to take up a position as an instructor at Harvard. In 1911 he became the head of the English department at Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar College is a liberal arts women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia, about north of Lynchburg, Virginia. The school's Latin motto translates as: "She who has earned the rose may bear it."...
. He later moved to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he served as a professor of English and Comparative Literature until his retirement in 1945. He was a member of the Modern Language Association
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
and the American Council of the Irish Texts Society
Irish Texts Society
The Irish Texts Society was founded in 1898 to promote the study of Irish literature. The Society publishes annotated editions of texts in Irish with English translations and related commentaries....
.
Works
Cross' final work, the Motif-Index of Early Irish Literature, whose compilation he had begun more than five decades earlier at the inspiration of Fred N. Robinson, was published post-humously as part of Indiana University BloomingtonIndiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
's Folklore Series in 1952. Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserves an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the...
praised it as "enormously comprehensive and so extremely useful". However, William Sayers would half a century later criticise it as being limited by its "original conceptual categories, where such modern notions as ideology, gender, physical aberrance, the abject and the like are absent". Another major work of his was A List of Books and Articles, Chiefly Bibliographical, Designed to Serve as an Introduction to the Bibliography and Methods of English Literary History, first published in 1919; it would go through numerous editions, renamed from the 7th onwards as the Bibliographical Guide to English Studies. Following his death it was expanded by Donald F. Bond as the Reference Guide to English Studies.
Personal life
Cross was born in 1879 in Nansemond CountyNansemond County, Virginia
Nansemond County is an extinct county which was located in Virginia Colony and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, from 1646 until 1972...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to Thomas Hardy Cross and Eleanor Elizabeth Wright. His father was a planter. He had one younger brother, Hardy Cross
Hardy Cross
Hardy Cross, 1885–1959, born in Nansemond County, Virginia, was a U.S. structural engineer and the developer of the moment distribution method for structural calculation of large buildings. The method was in general use from c.1935 until c.1960 when it was gradually superseded by other methods...
, who would go on to achieve fame in the field of structural engineering
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
for his development of the moment distribution method
Moment distribution method
The moment distribution method is a structural analysis method for statically indeterminate beams and frames developed by Hardy Cross. It was published in 1930 in an ASCE journal. The method only accounts for flexural effects and ignores axial and shear effects...
. He and his brother both did their preparatory education at Norfolk Academy
Norfolk Academy
Norfolk Academy is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest secondary school in Virginia and the eighth oldest in the United States...
. Cross was married to Elizabeth Weathers Cross. He had two daughters, Ellen Elizabeth Cross and Evelyn Douglas Cross. The former married music scholar Storm Bull
Storm Bull
Storm Bull was an American musician, composer and educator. He was Professor Emeritus at the College of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder and Head of the Division of Piano.-Background:...
in 1939. At the end of his career, he retired to a farm in Aylett, Virginia
Aylett, Virginia
Aylett is an unincorporated community in King William County, Virginia, United States....
, where he lived until his death. After his death, his wife moved to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, where she lived with Bull and her daughter until her own death in 1957.
External links
- A Reference Guide to English Studies, from the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...