Edwin Mims facts for kids

Edwin Mims (1872-1959) was an American university professor. He taught English literature to college students. He led the English Department at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He held this position for thirty years, from 1912 to 1942.

Professor Mims taught many famous writers. These included members of the Fugitives and the Southern Agrarians. These were two important groups of writers in the Southern United States. Edwin Mims was also strongly against lynching. He was a member of the Methodist church.

Early Life and Education

Edwin Mims was born in 1872 in Richmond, Arkansas. This town is close to Little Rock. His father was Andrew Jackson Mims. His mother was Cornelia Williamson. He had a brother named Stewart L. Mims. Stewart later lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Mims went to the Webb School. This school is in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. He then studied at Vanderbilt University. He earned his first degree there in 1892. He got a master's degree from Vanderbilt in 1893. While at Vanderbilt, he was the editor of The Vanderbilt Hustler. This was the main newspaper for the campus. Later, he earned his PhD from Cornell University in 1900.

A Professor's Journey

Edwin Mims started his teaching career at Vanderbilt University. He became an assistant professor in 1892. He also taught English at Duke University. At that time, Duke was called Trinity College. He later taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The head of Vanderbilt University, James Hampton Kirkland, asked Mims to come back. Mims returned to teach at his old university. He became the leader of the English Department in 1912. He stayed in that role until 1942.

Teaching Style and Students

Professor Mims had interesting rules for his students. He asked them to memorize a thousand lines of poetry. He also made them write an essay about their own lives every year. He even wrote a book about the history of Vanderbilt University. He also wrote about Chancellor Kirkland.

Many of his students became well-known writers. Some of them were Donald Davidson and Robert Penn Warren. Others included Cleanth Brooks, Andrew Nelson Lytle, and Allen Tate. One student, Jesse Stuart, wrote a book called Beyond Dark Hills. This book came from one of Mims's essay assignments. It was published in 1938.

Fighting for Fairness

Edwin Mims was a progressive thinker. This means he believed in making society better. He spoke out strongly against lynching. Lynching was a terrible act of violence against people. He started a group called the Law and Order League. This group worked to stop lynching. He also spoke in New York City about this important issue.

In 1926, he wrote a book called The Advancing South. This book encouraged people in the South to work for progress. A famous writer named Alain LeRoy Locke liked his book. Locke wrote a good review of it.

Other Important Roles

Mims was also involved in other important groups. He was the President of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Southern States in 1902. This group is now called the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He also gave lectures at the Chautauqua Institution for many years.

He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He helped create a new hymn book for the church.

Family, Later Life, and Legacy

In 1898, Edwin Mims married Clara Puryear. Clara's father was a tobacco seller from Paducah, Kentucky. Edwin and Clara had four children. Their names were Edwin, Catherine, Thomas, and Ella. Their daughter Ella was active in a group in Nashville. This group worked for fairness in the South.

Edwin Mims passed away on September 15, 1959, in Nashville. His funeral was held at the West End United Methodist Church. This church is near Vanderbilt University. He was buried at the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.

Today, there are two statues at Vanderbilt University dedicated to him. They are in the Benton Chapel. Also, there is a special teaching position at Vanderbilt. It is called the Edwin Mims Professorship. This honor was created because of a fundraising effort by a former student, Lucius E. Burch, Jr..