Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun | |
---|---|
Born | New York, New York | 5 January 1895
Died | 5 June 1979 Cambridge, Massachusetts | (aged 84)
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | Royal Air Force (United Kingdom) |
Unit | Royal Air Force |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards | Military Cross, Order of the Lion of Finland |
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr.
Early life and military career
Magoun was born to a prosperous family in
After a brief return to the United States, he went to
Magoun was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in June 1918: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When engaged on bombing work he attacked and shot down an enemy machine, with the result that it crashed to earth. He has also engaged massed enemy troops and transport with machine gun fire from low altitudes, throwing the enemy into the utmost confusion and inflicting heavy casualties. His work has been carried out with consistent keenness and tenacity."[3]
Scholarly career
Upon his return to the United States, he was appointed instructor in Comparative Literature at Harvard (1919); during this period, he completed his
At Harvard, he was made Instructor of English, and proceeded through the academic ranks thereafter (Professor of Comparative Literature, 1937; Professor of English, 1951).[6] His tweedy figure was familiar on campus; he was rumored to have no office, and it was said he could only be spoken to while walking.[7]
He was distinguished by a longstanding interest in popular
In late middle age, he undertook to learn the Finnish language in order to explore another area of oral tradition, and exercised considerable influence upon Finnish studies; contemporaries remember the growing library of Finnish texts in his house on Reservoir Street. His 1963 prose translation of the Kalevala remains a standard, and he was awarded the Finnish Order of the Lion of Finland in 1964 for his contributions to the study of Finnish culture.
He retired from Harvard in 1961, and he was honored at the close of his career with a well-regarded Festschrift: Franciplegius; medieval and linguistic studies in honor of Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr., edited by Jess B. Bessinger and Robert Payson Creed.
In a legend circulating among medievalists, Magoun is said to have been the model for the character Mr. Magoo.[9] However, there is no evidence that artist John Hubley knew the scholar.
Family life
Magoun married Margaret Boyden on 30 June 1926, in Winnetka, Illinois. Their children were Francis Peabody Magoun III (1927–1999; m. Faith Gowen); William Cowper Boyden Magoun (1928–2014; m. Patricia Lavezzorio); Margaret Boyden Magoun (1932–2017; m. Guido Rothrauff); and Jean Bartholow Magoun (born 1937; m. Ward Farnsworth).
Publications
Books
- History of football from the beginnings to 1871. 1938. ISBN 0-384-35060-7
- Old-English anthology: translations of Old-English prose and verse 1950.
- Walter of Aquitaine; materials for the study of his legend. 1950.
- Graded Finnish reader. 1957.
- Chaucer gazetteer. 1961.
- Kalevala, or Poems of the Kaleva District. 1963. ISBN 0-674-50000-8
- The Old Kalevala and Certain Antecedents. 1969. ISBN 0-674-63235-4
He is also credited for a few other works:
- Founders of England by Francis B. Gummere. 1930.
- Anglo-Saxon reader by Milton Haight Turk. 1930. ISBN 0-674-03650-6.
Articles
- Magoun Jr., Francis P (1953). "The Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry". S2CID 162903356. Rpt. in Nicholson, Lewis E. (1966). An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. pp. 189–221. and in Fry Jr., Donald K. (1968). The Beowulf Poet: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. pp. 83–113.
See also
References
- ^ Hudson, James J. (2003). "Lt. Frances Peabody Magoun Jr.: An American Ace in the RFC" (PDF). Cross & Cockade. 34 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ "Francis Peabody Magoun". The Aerodrome. 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ (MC citation, Supplement to the London Gazette, 22 June 1918)
- ^ The gest of Alexander: Two middle English alliterative fragments, Alexander A and Alexander B, translated from a J2-recension of the Historia de Preliis.
- ^ "Francis Peabody Magoun". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ The President and Fellows of Harvard College (1937). Historical Register of Harvard University 1636-1936. Cambridge: Harvard UP.
- ^ Kenvin, Roger Lee (4 June 1998). "Remembering Harvard, 1949-1950". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Bynum, David E. (1974). "Four Generations of Oral Literary Studies at Harvard University; Child's Legacy Enlarged: Oral Literary Studies at Harvard Since 1856". Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- St. Louis University) - in johnwalter.blogspot.com : FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005