Chaucer's Official Life

James Root Hulbert (1884-1969) was a professor and author. James Root Hulbert was born on March 8, 1884 in Eldora Iowa to James C. and Adda Root Hulbert. He received his Ph.D in English from the University of Chicago in 1912. His thesis, "Chaucer's Official Life," was published that same year. Hulbert's first appointment was as assistant in the English Department in 1907, and he later became a professor in the same department. During WWI, Hulbert was a civilian volunteer in the War Department, Section of Codes and Ciphers in 1918. Hulbert married Viola Blackburn. Their daughter, Anna Gifford, was born in 1933. Hulbert's books include Effective English (1929, with Viola), Dictionary of American English (1936, with William Craigie), and Dictionaries, British and American (1955).