Tolman, Albert Harris, 1856-1928

Professor of English. A.B., Williams College, 1877. Ph. D., Strassburg University, 1889. Professor of English, Ripon College, 1884-1893. Assistant professor of English literature, University of Chicago, 1893-1907; Dean of the College, 1895-1900; associate professor, 1907-1914; professor, 1914-1925.

Albert Harris Tolman (1856-1928) received an A.B. from Williams College in 1877 and a Ph.D. from the University of Strassburg in 1889. He was a principal of Chicopee Falls High School, Massachusetts (1878-1882) and a professor of English at Ripon College (1884-1893) and at the University of Chicago (1893-1925). He was a widely published Shakespearean authority and held a special interest in ballad and epic poetry. His publications on American ballads included: "Some songs traditional in the United States" (1916) and "Traditional texts and tunes" (1922; with Mary O. Eddy) both from The journal of American folklore. He died on December 25, 1928.

Albert Harris Tolman was born in New Englands' Berkshire Hills in 1856. Tolman acquired his BA from Williams College in 1877. He then earned his. Ph.D. at Strassburg University, 1889. First serving as the principal of Chicopee Falls High School, in Massachusetts (1878-1882) Tolman then acted as a Professor of English at Ripon College (1884-1893) before moving to the University of Chicago as an Assistant professor (1893-1907). At the University of Chicago Tolman then assumed the position of Dean of the College (1895-1900) before rising to Associate Professor (1907-1914) and then full professor (1914-1925).

Tolman was an expert on Shakespeare and ballad and epic poetry with a special interest in song.

Tolman attended Williams College during the era of Mark Hopkins, the college Pastor and professor of Moral philosophy. Hopkins' philosophy was that education should prepare the student to make the proper moral decisions in life and this idea had a large impact on Tolman's teaching style. Tolman focused on directing the students toward philosophical questions that would help them to grow as scholars and as individuals. Although Tolman was friendly and generous in scholastics he was known for being independent and preferred to address people as individuals. Serious, stern, and severe in demeanor, Tolman preferred to pursue knowledge on his own abilities.

Tolman's colleague, Gerald B. Smith described the professor as "…a high-minded descendant of the Puritans set down in the very un-puritanic city of Chicago. His real home was the realm of scholarship." Smith saw Tolman as a righteous man defending his ideals against an increasingly corrupt world.

Tolman passed away on the 25th of December in 1928.