Arthur H. Nethercot

Arthur Hobart Nethercot (April 20, 1895 - January 8, 1981) was an American poet and academic.

Life
Nethercot was born in Austin, Illinois, the oldest child of Charles and Anna (Hobart) and Charles Nethercot. He attended public school in Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois.

He attended Northwestern University (NU), where he earned a B.A. in 1915 and an Master of Arts (postgraduate) in 1916. He taught at St. Alban's School for Boys, 1916-1917, an then served with the Ambulance Corps and Field Artillery during World War I. Following the war, he attended the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.D. in 1922.

Nethercot joined NU's English faculty in 1919 and remained with the University until retirement. Nethercot was a prolific writer in many fields. In addition to writing poetry, essays and short stories published in popular periodicals, his scholarly interests were focused on biography and the dramatic literature of the 16th through the 20th centuries. He was also active with the NU Faculty Senate and the annual WAA-MU show.

Nethercot returned to Northwestern University as an instructor of English in 1919. He became a full professor in the English Department in 1939, and was Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English from 1961 until his retirement. He was the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships: a research fellowship in India, 1956-1957, and a lectureship at the University of Cologne, 1965-66. After his 1963 retirement from Northwestern he served aas visiting professor of English at the University of Kansas, 1964; the University of Montana, 1964-1965; Transylvania University, 1967; Colorado College, 1968; and Pennsylvania State University, 1971.

Nethercot founded a chapter of the National Poetry Society at Northwestern in 1920. He was associate editor, and from 1933 to 1935 editor-in-chief, of the Society's journal, College Verse. In 1942-1943 he served as secretary of the Drama section of the Modern Language Association. At Northwestern he was a member of the American Association of University Professors, and president of the local chapter in 1943-49.

Nethercot was a prolific writer in many fields. In addition to writing poetry, essays and short stories that were published in popular periodicals, his scholarly interests were focused on biography and the dramatic literature of the 16th through the 20th centuries. His first book, published in 1931, was a biography of Abraham Cowley, followed by a biography of Sir William Davenant, published in 1938. His research on George Bernard Shaw led him to discover and become interested in Annie Besant, a Theosophist and close friend of Shaw's. In 1960 Nethercot published The First Five Lives of Annie Besant, followed by The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant in 1963. He was also a member of the Shaw Review editorial board from 1959 until his death.

Nethercot was married twice and had two children with his first wife. He died in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Recognition
Nethercot received the Alumni Merit Award in 1959 and delivered the second Alumni Fund Lecture in 1962. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and gave the annual lecture in 1963. The Friends of Literature presented him with its biography award for his two-volume work, Lives of Annie Besant, in 1964.