author
William Armes
A longtime University of California, Berkeley professor, he brought literature, music, and drama together in ways that reached far beyond the classroom. He is also remembered as an early Sierra Club organizer and as the editor of collections that helped preserve older English songs and ballads for new readers.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1860, William Dallam Armes spent much of his career at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated in 1882 and later served as Associate Professor of American Literature in the English Department. Contemporary library and archival records also connect him closely with Berkeley's cultural life, especially its music and drama programs.
Armes wrote and edited literary works including Old English ballads and folk songs, The man with a hoe: an essay in interpretation, and The Greek theater at Berkeley. His career shows a wide range of interests, from literary criticism and bibliography to performance and education.
He was also a founding member of the Sierra Club and served as its first secretary, linking his name to an important chapter in American conservation history. Archival notes further describe him as a collector of Japanese prints, adding another dimension to a life shaped by literature, the arts, and public culture.