Kirk, Rudolf

Biography

Dr. Rudolf Kirk (1898–1989) was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He earned his BA from Princeton University in 1922. He received his MA (1928) and PhD (1932), both in English, from Princeton as well.

Kirk taught at Rutgers University for most of his career, serving as chairman of its English department from 1960–1963. He came to Southwest Texas State College as a visiting distinguished professor of English in 1963. He also held visiting professorships at the University of Wisconsin, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Illinois. He formally retired in 1969.

Kirk studied and wrote about the works of American writer William Dean Howells. He co-founded the English Institute at Columbia University and was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Liege in Belgium.

Texas 150 Oral History

Dr. Kirk talks about his childhood and background in Washington, D.C., his education at Princeton University, his service in World War I and World War II, his trip to Europe in the 1920s, his marriage, and his life as a long-time English professor.