Harry Morgan Ayres (October 6, 1881 – November 20, 1948) was a professor of English Literature at Columbia University [1] an author, and editor. He edited The Reader's Dictionary of Authors [2] including entries for Charles William Eliot, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, and George Moore and also contributed to the Library of the World's Best Literature. [3]
The English Journal Volume 13 described The Modern students book of English literature he compiled and wrote with Frederick Morgan Padelford and William David Howe as: "A brave effort to give something of every trope - even letters and a taste of modern critical and biographical prose." The description adds that the selection of early English material is "more adequate" than is usual. [4]
He defended General Dwight Eisenhower's appointment at Columbia pointing to the scholarly quality of his Guidhall speech in London. [5]
He wrote an essay on Modern American Tendencies for The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes. [6]