author
Fred Lewis Pattee
1863–1950
A pioneering scholar of American literature, he helped shape the field as a subject of serious study and became a lasting part of Penn State history by writing the university’s alma mater.
1 Audiobook
A History of American Literature Since 1870
by Fred Lewis Pattee
About the author
Born in Bristol, New Hampshire, in 1863, Fred Lewis Pattee was an American author, poet, and literary scholar. He studied at Dartmouth College and went on to become one of the early academic champions of American literature at a time when the field was still gaining recognition.
Pattee spent much of his career at Pennsylvania State College, where he served as a professor of American literature and was widely remembered as a leading authority on the subject. Alongside his scholarship, he also wrote the lyrics to the Penn State Alma Mater, linking his literary work to the everyday life of the university.
His writing ranged from literary history and criticism to poetry and autobiography, and his long career helped establish American literature as an important area of study in its own right. He died in 1950, but his name remains especially familiar at Penn State, where Pattee Library honors his legacy.