David K. Crowne

In Memoriam

May 14, 2013

Dear Colleagues,

It is with sadness that I communicate the passing, on May 12, of David K. Crowne, Professor Emeritus in our department. With a Ph.D. in Medieval and Comparative Literature from Harvard, David joined the Department of Literature in 1964. He won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1970 to study medieval Welsh language and literature, and he became an expert on the English poetry of the Great War on which he regularly taught a class. David served as department chair from 1982-85; he taught in the Revelle Humanities program of which he was an original faculty member; and he was an accomplished Dixieland jazz musician and photographer. David was interested in and enthusiastic about all things literary and was never without admiring students. In Chaucer’s words, “Gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.”

All best wishes,
Stephanie Jed
Chair, Department of Literature

Original Annoucement from Library Archives: Six New Appointments in Literature

Donations are requested in his memory to the David K Crowne Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. Funded through the Friends of the International Center. Contact: Eleanor Tum Suden