Hume Dow

Hume Dow (1916–1997) was born at Melbourne. He came to the United States in 1924 when his father, David M. Dow, was appointed official secretary of the Australian Commissioner to America. His father was the head of the Australian mission to the United States from 1930–1938 (an ambassador was not appointed until 1946). Hume Dow was educated at Staten Island Academy where he was a friend of the future philosopher Donald Herbert Davidson (a friendship that was continued at Harvard College). He won an open scholarship to Swarthmore College in 1934 but turned this down when he received a more attractive scholarship from Harvard College. At Harvard, he was a member of the John Reed Society, an organizer of the Harvard Film Society, literary editor of the Advocate, and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He helped raise money for an ambulance to be sent to the Loyalists in Spain. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with the class of 1938 and returned with his parents to Australia. He worked as a journalist and as editor of Salt, the Australian Army Journal. In 1953, he joined the English Department at the University of Melbourne where he remained until his retirement.