Henry Carrington Lancaster (November 10, 1882 - January 29, 1954) was a prominent American scholar—the world's foremost expert on French dramatic literature in the 16th through 18th centuries.
[1] Lancaster is noted for his unprecedented achievement of being awarded the Légion d'Honneur, given by France to the one person each year who has made the most exceptional contribution to its country (similar to, in the U.S., the American Medal of Freedom).
[2][3] For most of Lancaster's academic life, he was chair of the Romance Languages Department and professor of French literature at Johns Hopkins University.
One of his closest professor friends there introduced Carrington—a tall handsome bachelor—to his younger sister, Helen Converse Clark—beautiful smart and poetic.
Lancaster also enjoyed swimming, walking/hiking in nature, entertaining colleagues and friends, writing clever poems and limericks, and taking care of the family dog, Blarney.