John Erskine

Musician and writer John Erskine was born in New York City on October 5, 1879. As a child he had a strong interest in music, taking piano lessons for many years; for a time he was being taught by noted composer Edward MacDowell.

Erskine graduated from Columbia University in 1900 and received his PhD in 1903. He was an English instructor at Amherst College and became an Associate Professor there.

In 1909 he accepted a position on the faculty at his alma mater, Columbia, and became a full professor there in 1916. He was at Columbia for 28 years and gained a reputation as a highly respected and influential teacher; among his students were future authors Mark Van Doren, Clifton Fadiman, Rexford Tugwell and Mortimer J. Adler. Erskine also kept up his interest in music, often performing at private functions and on occasion at public concerts.

He was a trustee at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music from 1927 and was president of the institution from 1928 to 1937. He also published numerous books, mainly scholarly studies and poetry volumes.

It was hugely successful, being translated into 16 languages and even turned into a film (The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)).

He surprised many with his 1928 novel "The Private Life of Helen of Troy", his humorous version of the classic legend set in the contemporary Jazz Age.

In 1937 he retired from academic life and took up writing full-time. He published a variety of non-fiction works, two biographies (of Walt Whitman and American revolutionary figure Patrick Henry) and three volumes of memoirs.