Charles Mills Gayley
Charles Mills Gayley | |
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Chevalier of the Legion of Honour | |
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Charles Mills Gayley (February 22, 1858 – July 25, 1932) was a professor of English, the Classics, and Academic Dean of the
Biography
Gayley was born in Shanghai to Irish-born American Presbyterian missionaries. In 1862, Charles' father (Rev. Samuel Rankin Gayley) became infected with cholera and died. Young Gayley's father was only 34 when he was buried on a hill overlooking the
At Berkeley, Gayley was an author, scholar, orator, and widely acclaimed literary critic.[1] He served as University Examiner, Head of the English Department, Dean of Faculties, visiting professor at Oxford, and was a Director of the Commercial Bank of Berkeley. Occasionally, Gayley's lectures were relocated to the outdoor Greek theatre to accommodate overflow students and guests. A persistent advocate of education and idea-sharing, Gayley was instrumental in the development of the University Extension, the College of Commerce, building the Senior Hall, the Stephens Union (on the model of the Oxford Union), bringing Psi Upsilon to Berkeley, and establishing the student volunteers' Ambulance Corps. In 1895, Dr. Gayley composed the famous song "Golden Bear" which begins, "Oh, have you seen the heavens blue, heavens blue", to commemorate the victorious return of the first track team sent east by the University. The song contributed to the selection of the 'golden bear' as the mascot of athletic teams. A staunch patriot, Gayley was also a promoter of US involvement with World War I.
Gayley married Sallie Pickett Harris, daughter of Rt.
In 1943, former student Benjamin P. Kurtz authored the professor's biography, Charles Mills Gayley: The Glory of a Lighted Mind.
Early life
Gayley was the eldest son of Rev. Samuel Rankin Gayley and Sarah Sophia Mills. Through his maternal grandmother, Gayley could trace his ancestry to the
Gayley spent his early years in Shanghai, where the family struggled with the heat, illness and the Taiping Rebellion. Both his parents were repeatedly ill with dysentery and cholera, and Charles' younger brother Andrew died of dysentery in November 1860, barely one year old, just three weeks before the birth of his sister, Fannie. In 1861 the family decided to relocate north in the hope of fairer weather. With the American Civil War threatening to curtail money for foreign missionaries, Charles' father got them passage on a ship to Tengzhou, where they established a new mission. Here the family thrived for a time, until the cholera occurred again, killing both Charles' father and sister in 1862.[3]
Charles and his mother left China, intending to sail for the United States to respect his father's final wish. But with the civil war still in progress, Charles' mother Sarah decided first to sail for Ireland, to pay her respects to her dead husbands family. On arrival, she discovered that both parents of her husband had died, her mother-in-law dying days before news of her son's death reached Ireland. Her brother-in-law took her in, and she soon accepted a proposal of marriage from a cousin of Charles' father, Reverend Andrew Brown. The new family settled at Brown's church in Hollymount.[3]
Education and early career
At the age of nine, Gayley was sent to
Graduates of Gayley's Latin classes at Michigan include Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh and Walter Miller, who, recalling Gayley as a teacher, said "[i]t would be hard to decide whether Gayley was a better teacher of Latin than of English. He was supreme in both. And he was a great teacher of English when he was teaching Latin.".[3] In 1884, Gayley was made assistant professors of Latin, his teaching abilities recognised and rewarded. Although a career as a professor in Latin was indicated for him, Gayley was eager to pursue his interest in poetry.[3]
In 1886, he managed to get a poem accepted for publication in
He received the honorary Doctor of Laws (DLL) from the University of Glasgow in June 1901.[4]
In 1904, Gayley, along with
Publications
- Classic Myths in English Literature, 1893.
- Representative English Comedies, vol. i. 1903,[6] vol. ii. 1913, vol. iii. 1914
- The Star of Bethlehem, 1903.
- Poetry of the People: Ballads, Lays of Heroism, and National Songs with Martin C. Flaherty, 1903.
- The Principles and Progress of English Poetry with Clement Calhoun Young, 1904.
- Plays of our Forefathers, 1907.
- Idols of Education, 1910.
- The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art, 1911[7]
- Beaumont the Dramatist, 1914.
- Shakespeare and the Founders of Liberty in America, 1917.
References
- ^ a b c The Times, Thursday, July 28, 1932; pg. 18; Issue 46197; col A "Professor Gayley English Scholar And Humanist Category: Obituaries"
- ^ "Death Calls Dr. Gayley, Noted U.C. Educator". Oakland Tribune. Berkeley. July 26, 1932. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kurtz, Benjamin P. The Glory of a Lighted Mind (1943), University of California Press
- ^ "Glasgow University Jubilee". The Times. No. 36481. London. June 14, 1901. p. 10. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 1-4179-0086-5.
- ^ "Review of Representative English Comedies: From the Beginnings to Shakespeare ed. by Charles Mills Gayley". The Athenæum (3953): 150. August 1, 1903.
- ^ Revised and expanded version of 1893 volume.
External links
Media related to Charles Mills Gayley at Wikimedia Commons
- The Classic Myths in English Literature at Google Books – "based chiefly on Bulfinch's Age of Fable (1855)" – a complete scan of a 1900 copy of the book, browseable and downloadable.
- Works by Charles Mills Gayley at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Charles Mills Gayley at Internet Archive