author
George R. (George Rice) Carpenter
1863–1909
An energetic teacher and literary scholar, he helped shape how English composition was taught in American schools and colleges. His books ranged from rhetoric manuals to studies of Dante, Longfellow, Whittier, and Walt Whitman.
1 Audiobook
Elementary Composition
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, George R. (George Rice) Carpenter
About the author
Born on October 25, 1863, on the Labrador coast, George Rice Carpenter became an American educator, scholar, and writer whose career was closely tied to Harvard, MIT, and Columbia. He studied at Harvard, taught there and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and from 1893 served at Columbia University, where he was known as a professor of rhetoric and English.
Carpenter wrote widely for both students and general readers. His work included textbooks on rhetoric and composition as well as literary studies and biographies, with books on figures such as Dante, Longfellow, Whittier, and Walt Whitman. That mix of practical teaching and literary scholarship helped make him a familiar name to readers interested in both writing and American literature.
He died on April 8, 1909, at just 45 years old. Even with a relatively short life, he left behind a substantial body of writing and a strong reputation as a teacher who helped bring literature and clear writing together in the classroom.