Baker, Herschel, 1914-1990

Herschel Clay Baker (8 November 1914, Cleburne, Texas – 2 February 1990, Belmont, Massachusetts) was an American professor of English literature, specializing in the intellectual history of Christian humanism and its erosion. He did his undergraduate work at Southern Methodist University and received a Ph.D from Harvard in 1939. He taught at the University of Texas for seven years, before joining the Harvard faculty in 1946. While teaching at Harvard he served several terms as the chair of the English Department. Baker's 1947 book The Dignity of Man is a series of chronological studies tracing the development of Christian humanism until the Reformation. His 1952 book on the decay of Christian humanism relies on earlier work by Hardin Craig and Basil Willey. Baker was a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic years 1956–1957 and 1963–1964. In 1966 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Southern Methodist University. Upon his death he was survived by his widow, one son, and two daughters.