Edmund G. Gardner

Born in Kensington on May 12, 1869, he studied first at Beaumont College and then at University College London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Although he originally planned a career in medicine, long-term health problems interrupted his studies, and during a period of recovery in Florence he turned seriously toward Italian language and literature.

That change shaped the rest of his life. He went on to write widely on Dante, Ariosto, Florence, and Italian cultural history, and by the early twentieth century he was regarded as one of Britain’s foremost Dante scholars. His books also explored religious and mystical themes, and he contributed articles to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Gardner later held major academic posts in Italian studies, including the Serena Professorship at the University of Manchester and professorships at the University of London. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1925 and died in London on July 27, 1935.