Lancaster, Henry Carrington, 1882-1954

Henry Carrington Lancaster (November 10, 1882 – January 29, 1954) was a prominent American scholar—the world's foremost expert on French dramatic literature in the 16th through 18th centuries. Lancaster's scholarship was recognised in France with the Légion d'honneur (chevalier in 1932, promoted to officer in 1948) and an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1946. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1938 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1939. For most of Lancaster's academic life, he was chair of the Romance Languages Department and professor of French literature at Johns Hopkins University. "A meticulous scholar and a mine of factual information," he authored twenty volumes on French dramatic literature. In its June 2008 issue, Johns Hopkins Magazine chose two professors who epitomized the most excellent, distinguished and well-loved, throughout the history of Johns Hopkins: one in recent times, and one past. Lancaster was selected for a feature article and full-page photograph. Carrington Lancaster's papers are held at Johns Hopkins.