author
J. De Lancey (John De Lancey) Ferguson
1888–1966
An American writer and academic best remembered for his deep, lasting work on Robert Burns, he brought patient scholarship and a clear literary voice to biography, editing, and criticism. His books helped shape how many modern readers approach Burns’s life and letters.
1 Audiobook
Pride and Passion: Robert Burns, 1759-1796
by J. De Lancey (John De Lancey) Ferguson
About the author
Born on November 13, 1888, John DeLancey Ferguson was an American writer, editor, and teacher whose career joined literary scholarship with classroom work. He studied at Rutgers University, earning a B.A. in 1911 and an M.A. in 1912, and later completed a Ph.D. at Columbia University.
He taught at several colleges and universities, including Heidelberg College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Case Western Reserve University, and Brooklyn College. Alongside his academic work, he wrote and edited books on literary history and criticism, with titles ranging from American Literature in Spain to studies and editions connected with Robert Burns.
Ferguson is most often remembered as an important Burns scholar. He edited The Letters of Robert Burns and published major work on Burns’s life and poetry, earning a reputation for careful research and serious attention to the poet as both writer and person. He died on August 13, 1966.