J. H. Pitman
American scholar (1896 - 1958)
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James Hall Pitman (1896 – October 2, 1958) was a scholar of English literature, noted for his verse translations of medieval texts.[1]
Life
Pitman was born in Newark, New Jersey. He took a Bachelor of Arts degree at Rutgers University, graduating in 1919, followed by a Ph.D. at Yale University.[2] His Ph.D. thesis was entitled "Goldsmith's animated nature: a study of Goldsmith"; completed in 1922, it was published by Yale University Press in 1924.[3] From 1925 to 1933, he taught English at Indiana University,[2] specialising in Romantic literature.[4] Alongside academic work,[5] he also published short stories and poems in the University magazine, Vagabond.[6][7][8][9][10]
According to The New York Times, "for a time he was associated with the Packard School of Business in New York City".[1] In 1934, he moved to Newark College of Engineering as "English instructor". He was chair of the English Department there from 1950 to 1958.[1]
Pitman's children were Robert Pitman, David Pitman, and a daughter, Alison who married one Charles Bogert.[1]
A resident of Belleville, New Jersey, Pitman died on October 2, 1958, at his son Robert's home in Paterson, New Jersey.[1]
Selected works
- The Old English Physiologus: text and prose translation by Albert Stanburrough Cook; verse translation by James Hall Pitman (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921).
- The riddles of Aldhelm: text and verse translation with notes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1925; repr. Hamden, Conn : Archon Books, 1970).