Steele, A. J. (Alan John), 1916-2004

Alan John Steele was born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on 11 April 1916. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and at Blyth Secondary School. He studied at Edinburgh University and at Grenoble and in Paris. He graduated from Edinburgh with First Class Honours in French Language and Literature. During the Second World War he served at sea with the Maritime AA Regiment, Royal Artillery, and in Algeria, Italy, and Greece. In 1946 Steele was appointed as an Assistant in French at Edinburgh University, and he became a Lecturer in 1947, and Senior Lecturer in 1960. He was a Director of Studies from 1949 to 1960. In 1961 he became Professor of French at Edinburgh University. His publications include Three centuries of French verse, 1511-1819 (1956).

From the guide to the Papers of Professor Alan J. Steele (b. 1916), 20th century, (Edinburgh University Library)