Charles William Super

Born in Pennsylvania in 1842, Charles William Super studied at Dickinson College and later continued his education in the United States and Germany. He became known as a professor of Greek and as a long-serving leader at Ohio University, where he served as president in the late 19th century and remained a respected figure well into retirement.

Alongside his academic career, he wrote extensively. His books included A History of the German Language and A Pioneer College and Its Background, and his shorter pieces appeared in publications such as Popular Science Monthly. The range of his writing suggests a mind equally at home with classical learning, language history, and big educational questions.

Super lived until 1939, reaching the age of ninety-seven. By the end of his life he had earned a lasting place in Ohio University history and in the record of American scholarly writing from his era.