author
William Malone Baskervill
1850–1899
A 19th-century scholar of language and literature, he helped shape the study of English in the American South and co-wrote grammar books that stayed useful for generations. His work moved easily between classroom teaching, literary criticism, and early studies of Southern writers.
1 Audiobook
An English Grammar
by William Malone Baskervill, James Witt Sewell
About the author
Born in Fayette County, Tennessee, in 1850, William Malone Baskervill studied at Randolph–Macon College and later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Leipzig. He taught at Wofford College before joining Vanderbilt University in 1881, where he served as a professor of English language and literature until his death in 1899.
Baskervill was known as a teacher, critic, and editor with a strong interest in philology, grammar, and American literature. He wrote and co-wrote widely used textbooks on English grammar and Old English, and he also published literary studies, including work on Southern authors.
Today he is remembered both for his academic career at Vanderbilt and for helping bring serious, organized study of English language and literature to students in the late 19th century. His books reflect a mix of close language study and a broad interest in literary culture.