Ticknor, George

Ticknor, George (tĭk`nər), 1791–1871, American author and teacher, b. Boston, grad. Dartmouth, 1807. In 1815 he went to Germany to study at the Univ. of Göttingen. While abroad he was appointed Smith professor of French and Spanish languages and literatures at Harvard. After completing his European studies, he assumed his post at Harvard (1819). While he was there he improved elementary instruction in languages and introduced German methods of study. He resigned in 1835 to go abroad and collect more material for his great History of Spanish Literature (1849). His impressive collection of Spanish materials was left to the Boston Public Library, which he had helped to found.