Fred Lewis Pattee

Born in 1863 and active across the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fred Lewis Pattee was an American author, critic, and professor whose work helped shape the study of American literature. He taught for many years at Pennsylvania State College, now Penn State, where he became one of the institution’s best-known literary figures.

Pattee wrote widely in several forms, including literary history, fiction, and poetry, but he is especially remembered for treating American literature as a distinct tradition deserving close attention. That approach helped make him an important early voice in the academic study of the subject.

Beyond the classroom, his legacy at Penn State remains especially visible because he wrote the lyrics to the university’s alma mater. He died in 1950, leaving behind a body of work tied both to American literary scholarship and to the history of the university where he spent so much of his career.