Jack A. W. Bennett facts for kids
Jack Arthur Walter Bennett (born February 28, 1911 – died January 29, 1981) was a very smart person from New Zealand. He became a famous expert in old English literature.
Early Life and School Days
Jack Arthur Walter Bennett was born in Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand. He was the oldest son of Ernest and Alexandra Bennett. His dad worked with shoes, making patterns and cutting them. The family lived in a house called "Rocky Nook."
Jack went to Mount Albert Grammar School in Auckland. He was very talented, even writing the school hymn! Students still sing this hymn at school meetings today.
After high school, Jack studied at the University of Auckland. A writer named James McNeish said Jack was "poor and deserving," meaning he was smart but didn't have much money. Later, he went to Merton College, Oxford in England. He still didn't have much money there, sometimes living on simple Cornish pasties.
His Amazing Career
In a book called Dance of the Peacocks, Jack Bennett is mentioned as part of a special group at Oxford University. This group was sometimes called the "Oxford New Zealand Mafia." It was a group of super smart young men from New Zealand. Many of them won special scholarships called Rhodes Scholarships. They became good friends and stayed connected for their whole lives.
This group included other famous New Zealanders like John Mulgan and C. S. Lewis. Jack Bennett was seen as a bit different because he was so focused on his studies and sometimes forgot things. He even forgot to send recommendation letters with his application for the Oxford scholarship, but he still got in!
During World War II, Jack Bennett helped the British Information Service in America. He was only supposed to help for a few weeks, but he ended up staying for the whole war! He returned to Oxford in 1943.
Jack became best known for studying Middle English literature. This is the English language used in England from about 1150 to 1500. He was the editor of a journal called Medium Aevum from 1957 to 1981. He also worked with the famous writer C. S. Lewis at Magdalen College, Oxford.
In 1964, Jack took over C. S. Lewis's job as a professor at Cambridge University. He was also chosen as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1976.
One of his most important books was Middle English Literature. He also wrote other books like The Parlement of Foules: An Interpretation (1957) and Chaucer's Book of Fame (1960). He edited several other important books too.
The Inklings Group
Jack Bennett was part of a special, informal group of writers called the Inklings. This group included two of the most important writers of the 1900s:
- C. S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia
- J. R. R. Tolkien, who wrote The Lord of the Rings
Imagine being in a writing club with those authors!
Later Life
Jack Bennett passed away on January 29, 1981. He is buried at the Ascension Parish Burial Ground in Cambridge, England, next to his wife, Gwyneth.
