Huntington, Henry B.

Henry Barrett Huntington (1875-1965), professor of English, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1875. He prepared for college at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and graduated from Harvard in 1897. He taught at Dartmouth and Harvard before coming to Brown in 1902 as assistant professor of English. He was promoted to associate professor in 1910 and professor in 1929. His course in “Argumentative Composition” and its companion course, “Principles of Argumentation,” trained students in “correct and vigorous oral presentation of ideas.” When his course in argumentation ceased to be a required course, thirty upperclassmen elected it anyway, and showed their appreciation at the end of the term by presenting him with a cup engraved “Company I. Volunteers.” In addition to teaching, he did volunteer coaching of successful debating teams. With George Pierce Baker he wrote Principles of Argumentation, published in 1925. He died in Providence on October 14, 1965 at the age of ninety.