Samuel Preston Bayard Papers

Samuel Preston Bayard, famed folklorist, conducted fieldwork collecting folk songs even before he enrolled at the Pennsylvania State College. He graduated with an A.B. in Music in 1934, and received an A.M. in English from Harvard two years later. In 1945, Bayard was hired to teach Freshman Composition at the Pennsylvania State College and his scholarly output dealing with folk music grew tremendously. He was appointed assistant professor of English Composition in 1945, an associate professor in 1956 and became a full professor of English Literature in 1960. Despite retiring in 1973, he continued teaching and writing articles and in 1977 was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature. He was regarded by scholars and folk music enthusiasts as one of the foremost authorities on Anglo-American folk songs. Bayard died in 1996.