Hélène Harvitt
Hélène Harvitt | |
|---|---|
Harvitt, from the 1907 yearbook of Barnard College | |
| Born | Helen Josephine Harvitt November 12, 1884 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | March 1972 (age 87) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Translator, editor, college professor |
Hélène Josephine Harvitt (November 12, 1884 – March 1972) was an American college professor, translator, and editor. She taught French at Brooklyn College, and was the editor-in-chief of The French Review.
Early life and education
Harvitt was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Brooklyn, the daughter of Joseph Harvitt and Sophia Rabinowitz Harvitt. Her parents were both immigrants from the Russian Empire;[1] her mother was born in Odesa[2] and her father, a dentist, was born in Kyiv.[3][4] She graduated from Barnard College in 1907.[5] She earned a Ph.D. at Columbia University in 1913, with further graduate work at the Sorbonne.[6]
Career
Harvitt taught French and Spanish at Teachers College, Columbia University.[7] She taught French at Brooklyn College from 1928 until she retired in 1955.[8] She was the sole American delegate at the 1931 International Congress of Teachers, held in Paris.[9] She was longtime editor of The French Review,[10] published by the American Association of Teachers of French.[11][12] In 1937, she was honored by the French government with a knighthood in the Legion of Honour, for her efforts on behalf of French language and literature.[13][14]
Publications
Original works
- Eustorg De Beaulieu; A Disciple of Marot 1495(?)–1552 (1918)[15]
- "Hugues Salel, Poet and Translator" (1919)[16]
- "A New French Book on the U.S.A." (1930, book review in The Crisis)[17]
Translations and edited works
- Smetana, The Bartered Bride (1908, libretto by Karel Sabina, translated by Harvitt)
- Contes Divers: The Walter-Ballard French Series (1917, textbook)[18]
- Molière, L'École des femmes (1918, translated and edited by Harvitt)[7]
- Georges Duhamel, Stories and Sketches (1919, edited by Harvitt)[19]
- Alain-Fournier, Le Grand Meaulnes (1922, edited by Harvitt)[20]
- Henri Ghéon, La Farce du Pend dépendu and Prosper Mérimée, Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement (1927, editor)[21]
- Huisman and Huisman, Contes et légendes du moyen age français (1928, edited with Julien J. Champenois)[22]
- Jacques Deval, Tovaritch (1934, co-edited with Frédéric Ernst)[23]
- Representative plays from the French theatre of today: Vildrac, Sarment, Bernstein, Lenormand, Claudel (1940)
Personal life
Harvitt spent many of her summers in France.[14] She died in 1972, at the age of 87, at a nursing home in New York City.[24]
References
- ^ 1900 United States census, via Ancestry.
- ^ Sophia Harvitt's application for a U.S. passport, dated June 19, 1906, via Ancestry.
- ^ Hélène Josephine Harvitt's application for a U.S. passport, dated May 12, 1922, via Ancestry.
- ^ "Dr. Joseph Harvitt, Widely Known Boro Dentist Dies in 77th Year". Times Union. 1933-11-15. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1907 yearbook): 169.
- ^ "Helene J. Harvitt Wins French Scholarship". The Brooklyn Daily Times. 1920-04-12. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Molière (1919). L'École des femmes: par Molière. Edited with an introd. and notes by Hélène Harvitt (in French). Oxford University Press.
- ^ "5 Women on College Staff to be Retired". Daily News. 1955-05-27. p. 547. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Teachers' Congress Projects Outlined". Brooklyn Eagle. 1931-10-01. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Heads French Journal". The Brooklyn Daily Times. 1931-01-13. p. 64. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mason, James Frederick; Harvitt, Hélène Josephine (1935). The French Review. American Association of Teachers of French.
- ^ "French Teachers Meet in Easton; Mlle Helene Harvitt Speaks at Session at Lafayette College". The Morning Call. 1934-05-13. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Prof. Helene Harvitt Decorated with Legion of Honor Cross". Brooklyn Eagle. 1937-05-28. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Teacher Wins Ribbon of Legion of Honor". Daily News. 1937-06-06. p. 122. Retrieved 2026-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harvitt, Hélène (2019-05-06). Eustorg De Beaulieu: A Disciple of Marot 1495(?)–1552. Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/harv91058. ISBN 978-0-231-88184-5.
- ^ Harvitt, Hélène J. (March 1919). "Hugues Salel, Poet and Translator". Modern Philology. 16 (11): 595–605. doi:10.1086/387228. ISSN 0026-8232.
- ^ Harvitt, Hélène (January 1930). "The Browsing Reader: A New French Book on the U.S.A." The Crisis. 37 (1): 19, 32–34.
- ^ Harvitt, Helene J. (1917). Contes Divers: The Walter-Ballard French Series. Internet Archive. Charles Scribner's Sons.
- ^ Harvitt, Helene (1919). Stories and Sketches by Georges Duhamel. Internet Archive. Ginn and Company.
- ^ Helene Harvitt (1922). Le Grand Meaulnes. Internet Archive.
- ^ Posgate, Helen Smith (1928). "Review of La Farce du Pendu dépendu and Prosper Mérimée, Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement". The Modern Language Journal. 12 (6): 496–496. doi:10.2307/315883. ISSN 0026-7902.
- ^ Edgren, Helen H. (April 1929). "Reading Material for First-Year French". The School Review. 37 (4): 311–312. doi:10.1086/438850. ISSN 0036-6773.
- ^ Ernst, Frederic; Harvitt, Helene (1934). Tovaritch. Internet Archive.
- ^ "Helene Harvitt" The New York Times (April 1, 1972): 26.