| 1 | Name: | Dr. Meyer Howard Abrams | |
| Institution: | Cornell University | ||
| Year Elected: | 1973 | ||
| Class: | 4. Humanities | ||
| Subdivision: | 402. Criticism: Arts and Letters | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1912 | ||
| Death Date: | April 21, 2015 | ||
Among America's most highly respected literary scholars, Meyer Howard (Mike) Abrams was best known for his analysis of the Romantic period in English literature. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1912, Dr. Abrams received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1940. He joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1945, becoming a full professor in 1953, Whiton Professor of English in 1960 and professor emeritus in 1983. His two greatest books, The Mirror and the Lamp and Natural Supernaturalism, are recognized as outstanding achievements. The former book ranked 25th in the Modern Library's list of the 100 best nonfiction books written in English during the past 100 years, and for the latter Dr. Abrams was awarded the James Russell Lowell Prize by the Modern Language Association. In 1962, he conceived and edited The Norton Anthology of English Literature, and he continued as general editor through its seventh edition. Dr. Abrams was the recipient of the Award in Humanistic Studies from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Keats-Shelley Society and the Award for Literature by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His book The Fourth Dimension of a Poem and Other Essays (2012) was released slightly before his 100th birthday. In 2014 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal. Dr. Abrams died April 21, 2015, at age 102, in Ithaca, New York. | |||