Leacock, Stephen

Leacock, Stephen

▪ Canadian author
in full  Stephen Butler Leacock 
born Dec. 30, 1869, Swanmore, Hampshire, Eng.
died March 28, 1944, Toronto, Ont., Can.
 internationally popular Canadian humorist, educator, lecturer, and author of more than 30 books of lighthearted sketches and essays.

      Leacock immigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of six. He attended Upper Canada College (1882–87) and later received a B.A. degree from the University of Toronto (1891). After teaching for eight years at Upper Canada College, he entered the University of Chicago and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1903. Appointed that same year to the staff of McGill University in Montreal, he became head of the department of economics and political science in 1908 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1936. Although Leacock was the author of nearly 20 works on history and political economy, his true calling was humour, both as a lecturer and as an author.

      His fame now rests securely on work begun with the beguiling fantasies of Literary Lapses (1910) and Nonsense Novels (1911). Leacock's humour is typically based on a comic perception of social foibles and the incongruity between appearance and reality in human conduct, and his work is characterized by the invention of lively comic situations. Most renowned are his Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912), which gently mocks life in the fictional town of Mariposa, Ont., and Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich (1914).

      He also wrote Humour: Its Theory and Technique (1935), a discussion of his humour, and The Boy I Left Behind Me (1946), an uncompleted autobiography.

Additional Reading
James Doyle, Stephen Leacock: The Sage of Orillia (1992); Gerald Lynch, Stephen Leacock: Humour and Humanity (1988).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Leacock, Stephen (Butler) — (30 dic. 1869, Swanmore, Hampshire, Inglaterra–28 mar. 1944, Toronto, Ontario, Canadá). Escritor y conferencista canadiense nacido en Gran Bretaña. Emigró a Canadá con sus padres a los seis años de edad. A pesar de que enseñó economía y ciencias… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Leacock, Stephen (Butler) — born Dec. 30, 1869, Swanmore, Hampshire, Eng. died March 28, 1944, Toronto, Ont., Can. British born Canadian writer and lecturer. He immigrated to Canada with his parents at age six. Though he taught economics and political science at McGill… …   Universalium

  • Leacock,Stephen Butler — Lea·cock (lēʹkŏk ), Stephen Butler. 1869 1944. Canadian economist who is best remembered for his humorous writing, contained in volumes such as Literary Lapses (1910) and Nonsense Novels (1911). * * * …   Universalium

  • Stephen Leacock — Stephen Butler Leacock, Ph.D , FRSC (30 December 1869 ndash; 28 March 1944) was a Canadian writer and economist. Early lifeBorn in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, at the age of six Leacock and his family moved to Canada, settling on a farm in Egypt …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen Leacock — Nombre completo Stephen Butler Leacock Nacimiento 30 de diciembre de 1869 S …   Wikipedia Español

  • LEACOCK (S. B.) — LEACOCK STEPHEN BUTLER (1869 1944) C’est en Angleterre, à Swanmore (Hampshire), qu’est né Stephen Butler Leacock. Sa famille émigre au Canada en 1876, et s’installe dans la région du lac Simcoe, en Ontario. Malgré les modestes ressources de la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Leacock — (Stephen Butler) (1869 1944), écrivain canadien d expression anglaise célèbre pour ses récits humoristiques: Nonsense Novels (1911), Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich (1914) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Stephen Leacock — Demande de traduction Stephen Leacock → S …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leacock — noun Canadian economist best remembered for his humorous writings (1869 1944) • Syn: ↑Stephen Leacock, ↑Stephen Butler Leacock • Instance Hypernyms: ↑economist, ↑economic expert, ↑humorist, ↑humourist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Stephen Butler Leacock — noun Canadian economist best remembered for his humorous writings (1869 1944) • Syn: ↑Leacock, ↑Stephen Leacock • Instance Hypernyms: ↑economist, ↑economic expert, ↑humorist, ↑humourist …   Useful english dictionary

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