Carlson, Eric W.

Born in Sweden on August 20, 1910, Eric W. Carlson immigrated to the United States with his family when he was only six years old. The son of a bag maker, Carlson spoke no English when he first entered school in Worcester, Massachusetts, but quickly mastered his adopted language. He attended Boston University from 1928 to 1932, receiving a Bachelors degree in English. After graduation he continued his study of English at Boston University, being awarded both an MA and Ph.D from the university. In 1938 he met and married his wife Doris Anderson, with who he would spend the next seventy years of his life.

During the Great Depression Carlson worked a number of different teaching jobs in Massachusetts before moving to Connecticut to work at the University of Connecticut in 1942. Carlson spent the next 38 years teaching English at the university, publishing a number of books and articles on Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and numerous other authors. Carlson retired from the University of Connecticut in 1979 as Professor Emeritus of English and moved back to Worcester to spend more time with his family. Eric Carlson passed away at the age of 100 on July 13, 2011.

From the guide to the Eric W. Carlson Papers, 1942-2004, (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries)