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Richard Beale Davis Introduction

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0716

  • Staff Only

Richard Beale Davis wrote this introduction for the 1970 edition of William Wirt's Letters of the British Spy. In it, he discusses each of the ten letters in detail, places them in the context of Wirt's early 19th century Virginia, and examines how they were received when they were first published in the Virginia Argus in 1803.

Dates

  • circa 1970

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Abstract

Richard Beale Davis wrote this introduction for the 1970 edition of William Wirt's Letters of the British Spy. In it, he discusses each of the ten letters in detail, places them in the context of Wirt's early 19th century Virginia, and examines how they were received when they were first published in the Virginia Argus in 1803.

Biographical/Historical Note

Richard Beale Davis was born to Henry Woodhouse and Margaret Josephine (Wills) Davis in Accomack, Virginia on June 3, 1907. He earned his A. B from Randolph Macon College (1927) and his AM (1933) and PhD (1936) from the University of Virginia. He was later awarded a number of honorary degrees from such institutions as Randolph-Macon College, the College of William and Mary, and Eastern Kentucky University. Davis began his career as an instructor of English at the McGuire University School in Richmond, Virginia (1927-1930) and worked as a teacher at Randolph Macon Academy (1930-1932), as a teaching fellow at the University of Virginia (1933-1936), as an associate professor at the University of Virginia's Mary Washington College (1936-1940), and as an associate professor (1940-1946) and professor (1946-1947) at the University of South Carolina before coming to the University of Tennessee as a professor of English in charge of American Literature in 1947. He was honored as an Alumni Distinguished Service Professor of American Literature in 1962 and held this position until his retirement in 1977. Additionally, Davis held a number of visiting professorships at such institutions as the University of Texas, the Claremont Graduate School, and the University of Oslo. Among his published works are George Sandys, Poet-Adventurer (1955), William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World, 1676-1701 (1963), Intellectual Life in Jefferson’s Virginia, 1790-1830 (1964), American Literature through Bryant (1969), and Intellectual Life in the Colonial South, Volumes 1-3 (1978). Richard Davis died on March 30, 1981.

Arrangement

This collection consists of a single folder.

Acquisition Note

This collection was donated to Special Collections by Richard Beale Davis.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480