Smith, Goldwin

Smith, Goldwin, 1823–1910, English educator, historian, and journalist. Educated at Oxford, he took a prominent part in executing reforms at the university and became (1858) professor of modern history there. In many writings he expounded his ardently democratic, strongly anti-imperialistic, and antimilitaristic outlook. In 1868, Smith moved to the United States after accepting a position as professor of English literature and constitutional history at Cornell Univ. Although he retained the professorship until 1881, his removal to Canada (1870) prevented him from assuming full-time duties at the university during most of his tenure. His journals, including the short-lived Nation and Leader, and his numerous studies in social science, literature, and religion earned him great respect in North America and Great Britain as an educator and a liberal social critic.

Bibliography

See his reminiscences (1910) and correspondence (1913), both ed. by A. Haultain; biographies by Haultain (1913) and E. Wallace (1957).