Eberhart, Richard Ghormley, 1904-2005

Distinguished poet Richard Eberhart was born in Minnesota, and lived an idyllic life until experiencing the twin shocks of family financial crisis and his mother's death; his verse was significantly influenced by these experiences, and he would later cite his mother's death as the moment he became a poet. Eberhart was educated at the University of Minnesota, Dartmouth, Cambridge, and Harvard; he later worked various jobs as a tutor and educator, served in the naval reserve in World War II, and worked in business, all the while writing poetry and verse plays. His poetry gained much critical acclaim, including a Bollingen Prize in 1962, the Pulitzer Prize in 1966, and the National Book Award in 1977. He taught for thirty years at Dartmouth, encouraging young poets such as Robert Lowell.