Potter, Albert K.

Albert Knight Potter (1864-1948), professor of English, was born in South Berwick, Maine, on November 2, 1864. His father of the same name was a member of the Class of 1859 at Brown. Young Albert studied at Bridgewater (Mass.) Normal School and graduated from Brown in 1886. He was principal of the high school in Middleboro, Massachusetts, from 1887 to 1890, and classical master at the high school in Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1890 to 1897. He studied at the University of Leipzig and in Berlin, before becoming associate professor of English at Brown in 1898. He was promoted to professor in 1915. He retired from teaching in 1935. He died in Providence on November 17, 1948. In a Minute for the Board of Governors of the University Club on the death of Potter, Alfred H. Gurney said:

“Professor Albert Knight Potter was a charter member of The University Club. For nearly fifty years he used it as a second home. He was one of our consistent billiard players, and was adept at bridge and at conversation. His gracious courtesy, his broad sense of humor, and his good manners left their impress upon all who shared in his company. In these days of hasty and slipshod language, how we respect one who spoke with clarity, assurance, and impeccable taste!”