{{Short description|American academic}} {{Infobox person | name = Thomas Daniel Young | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = October 22, 1919 | birth_place = Louisville, Mississippi, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age text|January 29, 1997|October 22, 1919}} | death_place = Bay Springs, Mississippi, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = Scholar of Southern literature | education = | alma_mater = University of Southern Mississippi<br/>University of Mississippi<br/>Vanderbilt University | employer = | occupation = University professor | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = Arlease Lewis | children = 3 sons | parents = | relatives = }} '''Thomas Daniel Young''' (October 22, 1919 – January 29, 1997) was an American academic. He was the first Gertrude C. Vanderbilt professor of English at Vanderbilt University, and the author or editor of a dozen books about the literature of the Southern United States.
==Early life== Young was born on October 22, 1919, in Louisville, Mississippi.<ref name="specialcollectionsbio">{{cite web |title=Special Collections and University Archives: Thomas Daniel Young|url=http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/specialcollections/findingaids/youngtd.pdf |publisher=Vanderbilt University |accessdate=July 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name="tennesseanobit">{{cite news |title=Former VU professor Thomas Daniel Young dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/111928750/?terms=%22Thomas%2BDaniel%2BYoung%22 |accessdate=July 15, 2018 |work=The Tennessean |date=January 31, 1997|page=16|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }}</ref>
Young graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's degree.<ref name="nytimesobit">{{cite news |title=Thomas D. Young, English Professor, 77 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/09/nyregion/thomas-d-young-english-professor-77.html |accessdate=July 15, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=February 9, 1997}}</ref> He took a break from his studies to serve in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.<ref name="nytimesobit"/> He subsequently earned a master's degree from the University of Mississippi, followed by a PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1950.<ref name="tennesseanobit"/><ref name="nytimesobit"/>
==Career== Young began his career at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where he taught Southern and American Literature from 1950 to 1957, followed by Delta State University from 1957 to 1961, where he was also a dean.<ref name="nytimesobit"/><ref name="clarkecountytribuneobit">{{cite news |title=Thomas Daniel Young |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/238570789/?terms=%22Thomas%2BDaniel%2BYoung%22 |accessdate=July 15, 2018 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |location=Quitman, Mississippi |date=February 5, 1997|page=4|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }}</ref> He became an English professor at Vanderbilt professor at 1961,<ref name="clarkecountytribuneobit"/> and he was the chair of its English department from 1967 to 1973.<ref name="tennesseanobit"/> He was awarded the first Gertrude C. Vanderbilt professorship from 1972, and he was the director of the Vanderbilt-in-England program at the University of Leeds in 1972-1973.<ref name="tennesseanobit"/> He retired from Vanderbilt University in 1985.<ref name="tennesseanobit"/>
Young was the author and editor of a dozen books about Southern literature. He wrote a biography of John Crowe Ransom, and edited books about John Peale Bishop, Malcolm Cowley, Andrew Nelson Lytle and Allen Tate. He also authored his memoir. In 1991, Mark Royden Winchell co-edited a volume of essays about his scholarly contributions.
==Personal life and death== Young married Arlease Lewis. They had three sons, Thomas D. Young Jr., Terry Lewis Young, and Kyle David Young. They resided in Rose Hill, Jasper County, Mississippi.<ref name="nytimesobit"/>
Young died on January 29, 1997, in Bay Springs, Mississippi.<ref name="nytimesobit"/> His funeral was held at the Homewood United Methodist Church in Rose Hill, Mississippi, and he was buried in the Twistwood Cemetery.<ref name="tennesseanobit"/>
==Selected works== *{{cite book |last1=Beatty |first1=Richmond C. |last2=Young |first2=Thomas D. |last3=Watkins |first3=Floyd C. |title=The Literature of the South |date=1968 |publisher=Scott, Foresman |location=Glenview, Illinois|oclc=613223832}} *{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Thomas D. |title=Gentleman in a Dustcoat: A Biography of John Crowe Ransom |date=1976 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn=9780807101902 |oclc=787841443 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gentlemanindustc00youn }} *{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Thomas D. |title=Tennessee Writers |date=1981 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |isbn=9780870493195 |oclc=7276903 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/tennesseewriters0000youn }} *{{cite book |editor-last1=Hindle |editor-first1=John J. |editor-last2=Young |editor-first2=Thomas D. |title=The Republic of Letters in America: The Correspondence of John Peale Bishop & Allen Tate |date=1985 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=9780813165004|oclc=973053092}} *{{cite book |editor-last1=Cowley |editor-first1=Malcolm |editor-last2=Young |editor-first2=Thomas D. |title=Conversations With Malcolm Cowley |url=https://archive.org/details/conversationswit00cowl |url-access=registration |date=1986 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson, Mississippi |isbn=9780878052905|oclc=246716470}} *{{cite book |editor-last1=Sarcone |editor-first1=Elizabeth |editor-last2=Young |editor-first2=Thomas Daniel |title=The Lytle-Tate Letters The Correspondence of Andrew Lytle and Allen Tate |date=1987 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson, Mississippi |isbn=9780878053261|oclc=875455967}} *{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Thomas D. |title=Fabulous Provinces: A Memoir |url=https://archive.org/details/fabulousprovince00youn |url-access=registration |date=1988 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson, Mississippi |isbn=9780585275048|oclc=45732564}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book |editor-last1=Winchell |editor-first1=Mark Royden |title=The Vanderbilt Tradition: Essays in Honor of Thomas Daniel Young |date=1991 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn=9780807115381|oclc=22110064}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Thomas D.}} Category:1919 births Category:1997 deaths Category:People from Louisville, Mississippi Category:University of Southern Mississippi alumni Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:University of Mississippi alumni Category:Vanderbilt University alumni Category:University of Southern Mississippi faculty Category:Delta State University faculty Category:Vanderbilt University faculty Category:20th-century American memoirists