Pattee, Fred Lewis, 1863-1950

Fred Lewis Pattee was an American author, poet, teacher, scholar, and a leading authority on American literature. He was Professor of English and Rhetoric at Pennsylvania State College, and later became Professor of American Literature. In 1891 Pattee published his first book, LITERATURE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, and his first published verse collection was THE WINE OF MAY (1893). Pattee's most important critical work was the first volume of HISTORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1870 (1915), which was followed by THE NEW AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1890-1930 (1930) and THE FIRST CENTURY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1770-1870 (1935). In his editorial work, his most scholarly project was the three-volume set of THE POEMS OF PHILIP FRENEAU. Pattee's poems, short stories, and reviews appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, Mencken's AMERICAN MERCURY, THE NATION, and the quarterly AMERICAN LITERATURE. Philip Freneau (1752-1832) was a notable eighteenth-century American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain, and newspaper editor--regarded as the "poet of the Revolution."

Fred Lewis Pattee was an author, poet, scholar, teacher, and leading authority on American literature. Pattee accepted a position in September 1894 as Professor of English and Rhetoric at the Pennsylvania State College, and in 1918 was appointed Professor of American Literature; he probably was the first professor in the country to hold a title in American literature. Pattee retired from the Penn State faculty with emeritus rank in 1928, and moved to Florida. He later accepted a position as Professor of American Literature at Rollins College, a post he held until 1941.