Thomas Franklin Mayo (1893-1954), librarian, educator, author, and Rhodes Scholar, was born in Columbia, Mississippi 27 March 1893. He graduated from the University of Mississippi (1913) with a B.A. in English. A Rhodes Scholarship enabled Mayo to attend Oxford University in England in 1914, eventually earning a B.A. in English Literature (1916), later also earning a B.A. in Modern History (1921) and a M.A. in English (1922). Mayo was appointed Associate Professor of English and Librarian at Texas A & M in 1922, and spent the remainder of his career in Texas, except for one year of graduate study at Columbia University, 1927-1928. He received his Ph. D. from Columbia in 1934. Mayo continued in the dual role of Librarian and Associate Professor of English until 1944, at which time he was named Head of the English Department. In 1935 he had been promoted to the rank of Professor. After serving eight years as Head of the English Department, Mayo asked to be relieved of the administrative duties on 1 September 1952 so that he could devote full time to teaching and writing. He died 26 June 1954. As an educator, Mayo championed "humanistic" education at Texas A & M University, believing that such an approach was necessary to counterbalance the great emphasis on "technical" education in other departments. As a librarian, Mayo strove to emphasize acquiring and making accessible books in the fields of art, literature, and history.
From the description of Papers, 1914-1953. (Texas A&M University). WorldCat record id: 50958056
