Trent, William P. (William Peterfield), 1862-1939

Author, editor of the Sewanee Review from 1892 to 1899, and professor of English literature at Columbia University from 1900 to 1929.

William Peterfield Trent was born in Richmond, Va. He received the M.A. degree from the University of Virginia in 1884 and a Ph.D. from John Hopkins University. He was professor of English at the University of the South, 1888-1900, and at Columbia University, 1900-1929. Trent's Life of William Gilmore Simms was published in 1892.

He was also editor-in-chief of the Cambridge History of American Literature and was co-editor of the Columbia University edition of the complete writings of John Milton (1931). Trent married Alice Lyman (d. 1921) in 1896. Their children were Lucia Trent Cheney, who wrote poetry, and cartoonist William P. Trent, Jr.

William P. Trent taught history at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

William E. Boggs was a Chancellor at the University of Georgia.

William Peterfield Trent was born in Richmond, Va., on 10 November 1862. He received the M.A. degree from the University of Virginia in 1884 and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

From 1885 to 1887, Trent taught school and studied law in Richmond. He joined the faculty of the University of the South in 1888 as professor of English, continuing in that capacity until 1900. During that time, he also served as dean of the Academic Department and as editor or co-editor of The Sewanee Review . From 1900 until 1929, he was professor of English literature at Columbia University in New York.

Trent's Life of William Gilmore Simms was published in 1892. He was editor-in-chief of the Cambridge History of American Literature . Other works included Southern Statesmen of the Old Regime, Robert E. Lee, John Milton: A Short Study of His Life and Works, War and Civilization, The Progress of the United States in the Eighteenth Century, History of American Literature, Greatness in Literature, and Longfellow and Other Essays .

For more than 20 years, Trent was engaged in preparation of an exhaustive biography and bibliography of Daniel Defoe. He was also co-editor of the Columbia University edition of the complete writings of John Milton, which was published in 1931.

Trent married Alice Lyman (d. 1921) in 1896. Their children were Lucia Trent Cheney, who wrote poetry, and cartoonist William P. Trent, Jr.