Henry Goddard Leach

Henry Goddard Leach (July 3, 1880 – November 11, 1970) was an American Scandinavian studies scholar and civic leader. He is best known as President of The American-Scandinavian Foundation and Professor of Scandinavian Civilization at the University of Kansas. Biography Henry Goddard Leach was born in Philadelphia on July 3, 1880, to a family of English descent, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Alonzo L. Leach. He graduated from Princeton University in 1903, and then taught at Groton School for two years. One summer Leach accompanied the family of a pupil to Scandinavia as a tutor, during which he developed a lifelong fascination for the region. Leach received his M.A. and Ph.D at Harvard University, the latter in 1908, after which he traveled to Denmark on a scholarship. Returning to the United States in 1910, Leach served as an English instructor at Harvard University for two years. In 1912 Leach became secretary of the recently established The American-Scandinavian Foundation, in which he quickly would play a leading role. He was Editor of The American-Scandinavian Review from 1913 to 1921. Leach resigned from the foundation in 1921, subsequently becoming curator of Scandinavian history and literature at Harvard University. In 1923, Leach became Editor of The Forum, a public-affairs monthly magazine with which he was associated until 1940. Leach returned to The American-Scandinavian Foundation in 1926, leading the foundation through the turbulent years of World War II. Leach served as president of the Poetry Society of America from 1934 to 1937, and was rewarded upon his retirement with its medal for having established a fund to aid impoverished poets. He served as a member of the New York State Judicial Council from 1940 to 1950.