Arthur Eustace Morgan

Arthur Eustace Morgan
FRSC
1st Principal of University College Hull
In office
1926–1935
Succeeded byJohn H Nicholson
8th Principal of McGill University
In office
1935–1937
Preceded byArthur Currie
Succeeded byLewis Williams Douglas
Warden of Toynbee Hall
In office
1954–1963
Preceded byJames Joseph Mallon
Succeeded byJack Catchpool
Personal details
Born(1886-07-26)26 July 1886
Bristol, England
Died3 February 1972(1972-02-03) (aged 85)
Bristol, England
Spouse
Mabel Eugénie Melhuish
​
​
(m. 1909)​
RelationsM. W. Barley (son-in-law)
Children4 daughters
Alma materUniversity College, Bristol
Trinity College, Dublin
ProfessionLecturer, academic administrator, civil servant
Academic work
DisciplineEnglish literature
Sub-discipline
Literary history
InstitutionsRoyal Albert Memorial College
University of Sheffield
University College Hull
Columbia University (visiting)
University of Iowa (visiting)
McGill University
Main interests
English drama
Notable works
Tendencies of Modern English Drama (1924)
English plays, 1660-1820 (1935)
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch
 British Army
Rank
Captain
CommandsArtillery Cadet School, Royal Field Artillery
Conflicts
World War I

Arthur Eustace Morgan FRSC (26 July 1886 – 3 February 1972) was an English literature professor and academic administrator, known for being the first principal of University College, Hull and the eighth Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University.[1]

Early life and education

Morgan was born in 1886 in Bristol, England. His mother was Elizabeth Reid (née Livingstone-Learmonth) and his father was John Charles Morgan, who worked for the British consular service.[2] From 1903 to 1906, he studied science and medicine at University College, Bristol (now the University of Bristol), before transferring, in 1906, to Trinity College, Dublin to read English and French.[3][4] He earned his BA from Trinity College in 1909, followed by an upgrade to MA conferred in 1912.[5]

Military service

During World War I, Morgan was deemed medically unfit for active service. He served as captain and gunnery instructor at the Artillery Cadet School in the Royal Field Artillery and was based in Topsham, Devon.[2][6]

Academic career

Morgan's first academic post was as an assistant lecturer in English and French at University of Bristol in 1909-10.[3][7] In 1910, he started working as lecturer of English Literature at Royal Albert Memorial College (later University College of the South West of England and since 1955, University of Exeter).[8] He was promoted to professor in 1919,[9][7] followed by Head of the English Department.[10]

During his time at Exeter, Morgan became involved in the Committee for the Furtherance of University Education in the South West, whose secretary was his colleague William Henry Lewis.[11] The group's mission was to establish a university in the region, which at the time was served by the sole University of Bristol. As part of this work, Morgan lobbied for support from influential public figures in the southwest, namely the MP for Plymouth Sutton Nancy Astor and writer Thomas Hardy, a native of Dorset. He personally visited the latter at his home and succeeded in getting Hardy's endorsement for the committee's mission.[6] From 1920 to 1923, Morgan was deputy to Hector Hetherington, principal of the Royal Albert Memorial College and was credited for contributing to the efforts to get the college elevated to university status, becoming University College of the South West of England (often shortened to University College, Exeter) in 1922.[12]

Morgan went on to lecture at University of Sheffield from 1924 to 1926, before being appointed as the first Principal of University College Hull in 1926,[13] remaining in situ until 1935. He had been put forward for this position by Hetherington, who had been impressed by Morgan's work at Exeter as his deputy.[12][14] During his tenure at Hull, Morgan invited poet T. S. Eliot to give a guest lecture at his college, which took place in November 1934.[15][16]

Morgan was appointed as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University in 1935.[17] As reported by Time Magazine in their article announcing his arrival in Canada, Morgan himself had anticipated challenges in the new post, "Canadians dislike to see an Englishman getting Canada’s biggest educational plum".[18] Indeed, the new vice-chancellor was said to be unpopular among the university staff and he especially clashed with the board and chancellor, Edward Wentworth Beatty.[19] The left-leaning principal "celebrated the presence of the socialist professors" who had openly criticised capitalism and who had been the subject of complaints from the right-leaning chancellor and his board.[20] On the contrary, student leaders at McGill spoke positively of Morgan's liberal values and his firm stance on "freedom of thought and speech".[21]

Principal Morgan saluting the crowd from a platform
Morgan saluting the crowd attending his installation ceremony at McGill University on 5 October 1935.[22]

Eventually, Morgan resigned from his post in 1937. His resignation letter read as follows:

Montreal, 17th April, 1937.

Dear Sir Edward:

For some time it has been apparent that you and the other members of the Board of Governors did not see eye to eye with me in regard to the relation of the Principalship to the Governors.

We have had several talks on the subject during the past year and it now seems clear to me that it would be in the best interests of the University for me to ask you to convey to the Board my request to be relieved of my office from the 31st May next. I gather from you that this course would be acceptable to the Board.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) A. E. Morgan[23]

Scholarly works

As a scholar of English literature, Morgan lectured and wrote primarily about poetry and drama. He was the author of Scott and His Poetry, an anthology and biography of Sir Walter Scott, first published in 1912.[24] With R. P. Cowl, he co-edited Henry IV, Part 1 in the Arden Shakespeare series, first published in 1914.[25] He and Sherard Vines also co-edited Antony and Cleopatra[26] and Love's Labour's Lost[27] in Blackie and Son's Warwick Shakespeare series (published in 1934 and 1936, respectively). His other writings on English-speaking drama include Tendencies of Modern English Drama (1924)[28] and English Plays 1660-1820 (1935).[29] Morgan's interests in drama extended beyond academia. He was actively involved in the British Drama League during his time in Exeter. He also served, for sometime, as chair of Sheffield Repertory Theatre and as board member of Hull Little Theatre Company.[4]

Morgan was one of the British delegates at the Conference of British and American Professors of English at Columbia University in 1923.[30] Following the conference, he also taught at Columbia Summer Session.[9][31] In the summer of 1924, he was a visiting Professor at University of Iowa and also gave a public lecture on poetry at the University of Minnesota.[32]

Civil and public service

Returning to England in 1937, Morgan worked for the Ministry of Labour and National Service in various posts, including being in charge of the ministry's Juvenile Branch during World War II. During his time at the Ministry of Labour, Morgan worked on research into young people's welfare and education, becoming a well-known authority in this field.[33] Notably, he was commissioned by King George's Jubilee Trust to write the report entitled The Needs of Youth (1939), in which he concluded: "unless a youth is reared in a decent home and has sufficient clothing and food it cannot be expected that he will fulfil the potentialities of his manhood".[34] Morgan was a co-opted council member of the National Association of Boys' Clubs, where he also chaired the Industrial Advisory Committee.[35]

In 1945, he was appointed as Educational Director of the British Council.[36] From 1954 to 1963 he was warden at Toynbee Hall.[37]

Honours and recognitions

During his time as principal of McGill University, Morgan was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, following nomination from Lawrence Johnstone Burpee in 1936.[38] He was awarded an honorary LLD from McMaster University in 1937.[7][39]

Personal life and death

In 1909, Morgan married Mabel Eugénie Melhuish,[3] also known as May.[40] They had four daughters;[41] the eldest, Diana (born Mabel Gladys Morgan) was married to the archaeologist Maurice Barley.[42] Barley's autobiography, The Chiefest Grain, includes references to the author's father-in-law.[43]

Morgan died at his home in Bristol on 3 February 1972.[44]

Selected publications

  • Morgan, A. E. (1912). Scott & His Poetry. London: George G. Harrap and Co. – via Internet Archive.
  • Shakespeare, William (1919) [1914]. Cowl, R. P.; Morgan, A. E. (eds.). The first part of King Henry the Fourth. Arden Shakespeare (2nd ed.). London: Methuen Drama – via Internet Archive.
  • Morgan, A. E. (1924). Tendencies of modern English drama. London: Constable & Co. OL 14112062M – via Internet Archive.
  • Shakespeare, William (1934). Morgan, A. E.; Vines, W. Sherard (eds.). Antony and Cleopatra. Warwick Shakespeare. London: Blackie and Son.
  • Morgan, A. E., ed. (1935). English plays, 1660-1820. New York: Harper & brothers.
  • Shakespeare, William (1936). Morgan, A. E.; Vines, W. Sherard (eds.). Love's Labour's Lost. Warwick Shakespeare. London: Blackie and Son.
  • Morgan, A. E. (1939). The Needs of Youth. London: Oxford University Press.
  • Morgan, A. E. (1943). Young Citizen. Harmondsworth: Penguin Publishing.
  • Morgan, A. E. (1948). Youth Services. London: Longmans, Green and Co.

References

  1. ↑ "MORGAN, Arthur Eustace". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2024 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 "McGILL PRINCIPAL NAMED: Arthur Eustace Morgan of Hull, Eng., Gets Montreal Post". The New York Times. 13 April 1935. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, Charles G. D.; Tunnell, Arthur Leonard, eds. (1936). "Morgan, Arthur Eustace". The Canadian Who's Who. Vol. II - 1936-1937. p. 800. ISBN 978-0-8020-4913-1 – via Internet Archive. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  4. 1 2 Chipman, W. W. (1935). "Morgan of McGill". McGill News. Vol. 16, no. 3. Montreal: The Graduates' Society of McGill University. pp. 8–10.
  5. ↑ Trinity College, Dublin (1920). The Dublin University Calendar, for the year 1919-20. Vol. II. Longmans, Green and Co. p. 133 – via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 Barley, Simon (2024). "A Visit to Thomas Hardy". The Hardy Society Journal. 20 (1): 19–25. ISSN 1746-4617.
  7. 1 2 3 The International Who's Who (14th ed.). Europa Publications. 1950. p. 818 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ "History of the University". University Of Exeter Calendar 1974-75. Exeter. 1974. pp. 23–28 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. 1 2 "COLOMBIA ATTRACTS SCHOLARS OF WORLD; French Group Will Be Centre of Summer Session to Begin on July 9. COURSE TO LAST SIX WEEKS Leading Universities of America and England Will Send Professors". The New York Times. 25 February 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Morgan, A. E. (1912). Scott & His Poetry. London: George G. Harrap and Co. – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Rydon, H. N. (3 August 1963). "Prof. W. H. Lewis". Nature. 199 (4892): 429–429. doi:10.1038/199429a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  12. 1 2 "Papers of Arthur Eustace Morgan, first Principal of University College Hull, 1926-1935". Hull History Centre Catalogue. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "University and Educational Intelligence". Nature. 118 (2958): 68–68. 10 July 1926. doi:10.1038/118068a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  14. ↑ Carter, Charles (1979). "On Being a Middle-Aged University". Minerva. 17 (1): 180–183. ISSN 0026-4695.
  15. ↑ Eliot, T. S. "Letter to A. E. Morgan, 6 March 1934". tseliot.com. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Eliot, T. S. "Letter to A. E. Morgan, 22 March 1934". tseliot.com. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Past Principals and Vice-Chancellors". McGill University. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Education: New Presidents". Time Magazine. 9 September 1935.
  19. ↑ Monahan, Edward J. (1992). Frost, Stanley Brice (ed.). "A Skilful Academic Navigator in Troubled Political Waters". Minerva. 30 (3): 448–456. ISSN 0026-4695.
  20. ↑ "The Chancellor and His Principals: Administrative Reponses to Socialist Professors at McGill, c. 1930-1941". Active History. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Canadian Students' Tribute to Principal Morgan". Hull Daily Mail. 18 May 1937. Retrieved 10 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ↑ "Principal Arthur Eustace Morgan, 1935-1937". www.archives.mcgill.ca. 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "A. E. Morgan Resigns As Principal of McGill". Montreal Daily Star. 28 April 1937.
  24. ↑ Morgan, A. E. (1912). Scott & His Poetry. London: George G. Harrap and Co. – via Internet Archive.
  25. ↑ Shakespeare, William (1919) [1914]. Cowl, R. P.; Morgan, A. E. (eds.). The first part of King Henry the Fourth. Arden Shakespeare (2nd ed.). London: Methuen Drama – via Internet Archive.
  26. ↑ Shakespeare, William (1934). Morgan, A. E.; Vines, W. Sherard (eds.). Antony and Cleopatra. Warwick Shakespeare. London: Blackie and Son.
  27. ↑ Shakespeare, William (1936). Morgan, A. E.; Vines, W. Sherard (eds.). Love's Labour's Lost. Warwick Shakespeare. London: Blackie and Son.
  28. ↑ "Thirty Years of Growth in the Drama; All the Important Plays Since 1890 in a Critical History". The New York Times. 3 August 1924. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "Brief Mention". Modern Language Notes. 51 (6): 412–416. 1936. ISSN 0149-6611.
  30. ↑ "COLUMBIA IS READY FOR BIG CONFERENCE; British and American Professors of English to Meet Here on Tuesday". The New York Times. 10 June 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "BRITISH PROFESSORS OF ENGLISH DINE AT UNION". The Harvard Crimson. 19 June 1923. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  32. ↑ "English Literary Authority to Lecture". Minnesota Daily. Vol. VII, no. 25. 14 August 1924. Archived from the original on 7 April 2026.
  33. ↑ British Council; National Book League (1948). British Book News 1948. London: Longmans, Green & Co. p. 219 – via Internet Archive.
  34. ↑ "Welfare of Youth". The New York Times. 10 September 1939. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  35. ↑ The National Association of Boys Clubs (1952). NABC Annual Reports 1948-52. Archived by UCL Institute of Education – via Internet Archive.
  36. ↑ "Educational Director of the British Council: Dr. A. E. Morgan". Nature. 156 (3951): 77–77. 21 July 1945. doi:10.1038/156077a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  37. ↑ Toynbee Hall (1964). "Toynbee Hall Annual Report 1963-1964". Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  38. ↑ File 505 - Royal Society of Canada (PDF), McGill University Archives, pp. 164–180, archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2026
  39. ↑ "McMaster University Honorary Degree Recipients (Chronological), 1892-Present" (PDF). McMaster University. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  40. ↑ Roll, Eric (2004). "Barley, Maurice Willmore". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  41. ↑ "Wife of McGill's New Principal" (PDF). Prince Albert Daily Herald. 17 May 1935. p. 4.
  42. ↑ Henry, Helen (21 September 2007). "Diana Barley". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  43. ↑ "Publication. 'The Chiefest Grain' by Maurice Barley". Hull History Centre Catalogue. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  44. ↑ National Probate Calendar Index of Wills and Administrations. 1972. p. 381.
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