Calvin Thomas (linguist)

Calvin Thomas (October 28, 1854 near Lapeer, Michigan – November 4, 1919 in New York City) was an American scholar who served as professor of Germanic languages and literature at the University of Michigan and Columbia University.

He taught Latin and Greek at the Grand Rapids High School for a while, after which he studied philology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1877/1878.

His studies ended abruptly when he responded to a request from the University of Michigan to return and teach German.

Professor Thomas did much to introduce the study of German into US public schools.

He was president of the Modern Language Association of America from 1896 to 1897, and of the American Dialect Society from 1912 to 1913.