Altrocchi, Rudolph, 1882-1953

Altrocchi graduated from Harvard in 1908 and taught Italian language and literature at Harvard.

From the description of Papers of Rudolph Altrocchi, 1907-1946 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76972974

Professor of Italian, University of California, Berkeley.

From the description of Rudolph Altrocchi papers, 1908-1960 (bulk 1908-1930) (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 26197498

Second lieutenant, United States Army; director of oral propaganda in Italy, American Bureau of Public Information, 1918; Army Liaison Service officer, France, 1918-1919.

From the description of Rudolph Altrocchi papers, 1900-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754868913

Rudolph Altrocchi (1882-1953) was born in Florence, Italy and his family emigrated to the United States when he was a child. He received an AB from Harvard College in 1908, and an AM in 1909 and PhD in 1914, both from Harvard University. He taught romance languages at Columbia University (1910-1911) and at the University of Pennsylvania (1911-1912), and was an instructor in French and Italian at Harvard (1912-1915). In 1916 he taught at the University of Chicago where he remained until 1927. In 1928 he moved to the University of California, Berkeley and remained there as a professor of Italian until 1952. He was the president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco from 1932-1938 and vice president of the Associated Harvard Clubs from 1934-1941, president from 1942-1947. Altrocchi married poet and novelist Julia Cooley Altrocchi (1893-1972) in 1920.

From the description of Rudolph Altrocchi papers, 1909-1942. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612840791

Biographical Note

• 1882, October 31: born, Florence, Italy
• 1908: A.B., Harvard
• 1914: Ph.d., Harvard
• 1918, June - 1918 Sept. : director of oral propaganda in Italy. American Bureau of Public Information, Rome
• 1918 - 1919 : 2d lt., Infantry, Liaison Service, A.E.F., Lyons, France
• 1915 - 1927 : assistant professor and associate professor of Italian, University of Chicago
• 1928 - 1947 : professor of Italian, University of California

From the guide to the Rudolph Altrocchi Papers, 1900-1945, (Hoover Institution Archives)

Rudolph Altrocchi was born on October 31, 1882 in Florence, Italy. He attended Joseph Domenge’s French School in Florence, a Swiss school, and the Prosser School of Kansas City, Missouri. He received his A.B. in 1908, his A.M. in 1909, and his Ph.D in 1914 from Harvard University.

Altrocchi taught romance languages at Columbia University from 1910-1911. He went on to University of Pennsylvania, where he taught the same subject from 1911-1912. From 1912-1915 he was an instructor in French and Italian at Harvard. Altrocchi came to the University of Chicago as an assistant professor of Italian in 1916, and became an associate professor in 1922. In 1927 he accepted the chair of Italian at Brown University, but in 1928 he became the chairman of the Italian languages and literature department at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as chair until 1946, and remained as a professor of Italian until 1952.

Altrocchi was the Propaganda Director in Italy for the Board of War Information under President Wilson from 1918-1919. He was a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry, and served as a liasions officer in Lyon, France. In 1921 he was awarded the title and medal of Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Corona d’Italia by the King of Italy. In 1934 he was awarded the title and medal of Officier de l’Academie de France by the French government.

Altrocchi was the founder and co-editor (1924-1928) of Italica, the quarterly bulletin of the American Association of Teachers of Italian. Volume XXVII(2) of June 1950 was a tribute volume dedicated to Altrocchi, He was also president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco from 1932-1938, vice president of the Associated Harvard Clubs from 1934-1941 and president of the same organization from 1942-1947, and served as president of the Philological Association of the Pacific Coast. He was a member of the Literary Club of Chicago.

Altrocchi wrote Sleuthing in the Stacks (1944), Deceptive Cognates (1935). He was co-editor of Italian Short Stories (1912), Giacosa’s Tristi Amori (1921) and Sracco’s Il Piccolo Santo (1929). He translated Girolamo Sommi-Picenardi’s Snow and Steel (1926) and was a contributor to The Nation, North American Review, The Drama, Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, and to many other scholarly magazines and publications.

In 1920 Altrocchi married Julia Cooley, the daughter of Harlan Ward Cooley of Chicago. She was a poet and novelist, and produced such works as The Poems of a Child, The Dance of Youth, Snow Covered Wagons, and Wolves Against the Moon. The couple had two sons, John Cooley and Paul Hemenway,

Rudolph Altrocchi died on May 13, 1953 in Berkeley, California.

From the guide to the Altrocchi, Rudolph. Papers, 1915-1930, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)

Rudolph Altrocchi (1882-1953) was born in Florence, Italy and his family emigrated to the United States when he was a child. He received an AB from Harvard College in 1908, and an AM in 1909 and PhD in 1914, both from Harvard University. He taught romance languages at Columbia University (1910-1911) and at the University of Pennsylvania (1911-1912), and was an instructor in French and Italian at Harvard (1912-1915). In 1916 he taught at the University of Chicago where he remained until 1927. In 1928 he moved to the University of California, Berkeley and remained there as a professor of Italian until 1952. He was the president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco from 1932-1938 and vice president of the Associated Harvard Clubs from 1934-1941, president from 1942-1947.

Altrocchi married poet and novelist Julia Cooley Altrocchi (1893-1972) in 1920. They had two sons, John Cooley Altrocchi and Paul Hemenway Altrocchi.

From the guide to the Rudolph Altrocchi papers, 1909-1942., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)