Greg, W.W. (Walter Wilson), 1875-1959

Walter Wilson Greg, bibliographer and literary scholar, was born in Wimbledon Common, England, on July 9, 1875. He was the only child of the idustrialist and author William Rathbone Greg and Julia Wilson Greg, daughter of James Wilson, the founder of The Economist . Greg's family hoped that he would assume the editorship of the newspaper someday, and he was educated at Harrow School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he received a "pass" degree in 1897.

During his time at Trinity, Greg became fascinated by bibliography and textual editing, studying with R. B. McKerrow, and in 1898 he joined the Bibliographical Society and began a lifelong friendship with its secretary, A. W. Pollard. He served as Librarian of Trinity College from 1907 until 1913, when he resigned upon marrying his cousin Elizabeth Gaskell. Greg never held an official academic appointment again, but his family fortune enabled him to pursue his productive scholarly career for several decades.

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