|
Will Mercer Cook (March 30, 1903 - October 4, 1987), popularly known as Mercer Cook, was an African-American diplomat and professor. He was the first American ambassador to the Gambia, appointed while ambassador to Senegal. He was also the second American ambassador to Niger.〔http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/mercer-cook-38〕 ==Biography== Will Mercer Cook was born on March 30, 1903, in Washington D.C., to Will Marion Cook, a famous composer, and Abbie Mitchell Cook, a soprano singer best known for playing the role of "Clara" in the premier production of George Gershwin's ''Porgy and Bess'' in 1935. Cook's sister and only other sibling was born Marion Abigail Cook, in 1900. As a child Cook traveled extensively in the United States and Europe with his parents as they pursued their respective careers in the entertainment industry. Cook also lived across the street from the legendary jazz musician Duke Ellington. Cook attended Dunbar High School in Washington D.C., a predominantly black school. He graduated from Amherst College with his bachelor's in 1925 and received his teacher's diploma from the University of Paris in 1926. Cook attended Brown University and earned a master's degree in 1931 and a doctorate in 1936. While completing his graduate education, Cook worked as an assistant professor of romance languages at Howard University from 1927 until 1936. Upon completing his doctorate, Cook became a professor of French at Atlanta University from 1936 until 1943. During that time he received a Rosenwald Fellowship to study in Paris and the French West Indies. In 1942 he received another General Education Board Fellowship to the University of Havana. From 1943 to 1945 Cook worked as a professor of English at the University of Haiti. During this time he wrote the Handbook for Haitian Teachers of English. He also wrote the literary criticism titled Five French Negro Authors and edited an anthology of Haitian readings. In 1929 Cook married Vashti Smith, a social worker. The couple had two sons named Mercer and Jacques. He returned to Paris in 1934 on a fellowship from the General Education Board. After two years in Haiti, Cook returned to Washington, D.C., to work as a professor of romance languages at Howard University, where he stayed until 1960. During this time Cook continued to write about Haiti and he also translated works of African and West Indian writers from French to English. Most notably, in 1959, Cook translated the works of Leopold Senghor, who was a former president of Senegal and an established French author. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mercer Cook」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|