Fichter, William L.

William Leopold Fichter (1892-1985), professor of Spanish language and literature, was born in New York City on January 5, 1892. He received his Sc.B., A.M., and Ph.D. degrees, all from Columbia, in 1914, 1918, and 1926. He taught at the High School of Commerce in New York City from 1914 to 1917, at the United States Naval Academy from 1917 to 1922, at Girard College from 1922 to 1925, and at the University of Minnesota from 1925 to 1928. He came to Brown as associate professor of Spanish language and literature in 1928, and became full professor in 1938. He spent his sabbatic leaves in 1940-41 and 1947-48 studying Spanish and Indian civilizations in Mexico and Guatemala, and was visiting lecturer at Harvard in 1952-53. He retired in 1962, and the next year was visiting Andrew Mellon Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Pittsburgh. His publications included critical annotated editions of Lope de Vega and a collection of the writings of Ramon del Valle-Inclan. In honor of his 80th birthday a volume of essays by 71 Hispanists, Homenaje a William Fichter, was published in Madrid. In 1977 he received from the King of Spain the decoration of the Order of Alfonso X, el Sabio (the Learned) in a ceremony in the Hispanic House at Brown. He died on March 9, 1985 at the age of 93.