Tales of Fantasy And Fact

Professor James Brander Matthews (1852-1929), who also wrote under the pseudonym Arthur Penn, was a U. S. writer and educator. Matthews was the first U. S. professor of dramatic literature. He graduated from Columbia College in 1871, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, and from Columbia Law School in 1873, but turned to a literary career. From 1892 to 1900 he was professor of literature at Columbia, and thereafter held the chair of dramatic literature. His influence was such that a popular pun claimed that an entire generation had been "brandered by the same Matthews". He was one of the organizers of the American Copyright League; a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and president (1913) of the National Institute of Arts and Letters; the first chairman (1906) of the Simplified Spelling Board; and president of the Modern Language Association of America (1910). In 1907 the French government decorated him with the Legion of Honor. His works include: In Partnership (