William Herbert Carruth Explained

William Herbert Carruth (April 5, 1859 – December 15, 1924) was an American educator and poet. He taught at the University of Kansas and Stanford University.

Life

William Herbert Carruth was born in Osawatomie, Kansas on April 5, 1859. He earned AB and MA degrees in modern languages from the University of Kansas (KU) and later two more advanced languages degrees, another MA and a PhD, from Harvard. Carruth taught languages and literature at KU from 1880 until 1913, and was Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University from 1913 to 1924.^[1] Carruth was president of the Pacific Coast Conference of the Unitarian Church.^[2]

Works

• Carruth translated Hermann Gunkel's "The Legends of Genesis" into an English version published in 1901.^[3]
• Carruth's poems include "Each in His Own Tongue," "Ghosts of Dreams," "Tescott" and "John Brown."^[4]

Legacy

British composer Clara Ross used Carruth’s text for her song “Each in His Own Name.”^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Collection: Personal papers of William H. Carruth Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections . archives.lib.ku.edu . University of Kansas . 4 November 2024.
2. January 1921. Directory. The Pacific Unitarian. March 15, 2017.
3. Book: Hermann Gunkel. The Legends of Genesis. 1901. Open Court Publishing Company.
4. Web site: Poets' Corner – William Herbert Carruth – Selected Works . 2017-03-15 . Poets' Corner.
5. Book: Office, Library of Congress Copyright . Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical Compositions. Part 3 . 1917 . Library of Congress. . en.