Wilgus, D. K.

D.K. (Donald Knight) Wilgus was born on 1 December 1918, in Mansfield, Ohio. He attended the Ohio State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1941, a Master of Arts in 1947, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1954. Wilgus spent most of his career teaching in the Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Throughout his career he helped pioneer the chronicling of popular musical forms, including Blues and "Hillbilly" music. In 1986, he married former student and long-time colleague Eleanor R. Long. D.K. Wilgus died on 25 December 1989.

D.K. Wilgus was a native of Columbus, Ohio. His book, Anglo-American folksong scholarship since 1898, has for many years been considered the definitive overview of the history of folksong scholarship in America. He was the first to plead academic respectability for "hillbilly" music. He was a pioneer in the teaching of Anglo-American Folksong as a rigorous academic subject, in identifying the blues ballad as a separate folksong genre, and developing the "narrative theme" approach to ballad classification. Wilgus taught at Western Kentucky University (1950-1963), where he founded and edited the scholarly journal, Kentucky Folklore Record. From 1963-1989 he taught at UCLA, where he established and served as first chairperson of the Department of Folklore and Mythology.

D.K. (Donald Knight) Wilgus was born on 1 December 1918, in Mansfield, Ohio. He attended the Ohio State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1941, a Master of Arts in 1947, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1954. Wilgus worked briefly at Purdue University from 1941 until he joined the Army in 1942, serving until 1945. After an honorable discharge, Wilgus took a position as an instructor at the Ohio State University until 1950, when he left to become an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky State College (now Western Kentucky State University) until 1961. While at Western Kentucky State College, Wilgus founded the Kentucky Folklore Record in 1955. In 1961, he was promoted to full professor of English and Folklore, but left the position in 1962 to teach at the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA, Wilgus was a professor of English and Anglo-American folksong in the Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology. He was the founding chair of the Folklore and Mythology program at UCLA in 1965 and served in that position for the next 17 years. In 1986, Wilgus married former student and long-time colleague Eleanor R. Long, with whom he collaborated on several projects. He remained at UCLA until his retirement in 1989. Throughout his career Wilgus helped pioneer the chronicling of popular musical forms, including Blues and Hillbilly music. D.K. Wilgus died on 25 December 1989.

D.K. Wilgus (1918-1989), eminent folklorist and professor of English and Anglo-American Folksong in the Department of Folklore and Mythology at UCLA, who helped pioneer the chronicling of the development of popular musical forms, such as blues and country-western, as an important part of American culture.