John Erskine (October 5, 1879 – June 2, 1951) was an American educator and author, pianist and composer.

During his tenure at Columbia University he formulated the General Honors Course—responsible for inspiring the influential Great Books movement.

This course taught the classics in translation instead of the original Latin or Greek, a concept he elaborated in his noted essay The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent.

[5][6] Erskine co-wrote the 1900 Varsity Show at Columbia, writing the musical score for The Governor's Vrouw (1900), a two-act comic opera by Henry Sydnor Harrison and poet Melville Cane, who also wrote the lyrics.

During his career Erskine published over 100 books,[1] though as a writer he first received acclaim with his novel The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1925).

Other films based on his works included A Lady Surrenders (1930) by John M. Stahl, Bachelor of Arts (1934) by Louis King and The President's Mystery (1936) directed by Phil Rosen.

[9] He was also the author of numerous publications, including several humorous novels retelling myths and legends, besides essays, criticism, and two volumes of autobiography.

[6] Erskine is also credited with writing the subtitles for a number of films, including Sacha Guitry's Le Roman d'un tricheur (The Story of a Cheat) in 1938,[11] Marcel Pagnol's The Baker's Wife in 1940[12] and Mario Camerini's The Spirit and the Flesh, an adaptation of Alessandro Manzoni's classic novel The Betrothed, in 1948.