Quinlan, Maurice J. (Maurice James), 1904-1987

Maurice J. Quinlan was born on December 19, 1904 in East Hampton, Connecticut. He attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1926. After briefly considering a career in medicine, Quinlan decided to pursue his interest in English literature at Columbia University, New York City, and earned his PhD in 1943.

Quinlan enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Following his discharge, Quinlan pursued a career in teaching. He taught at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, as well as St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford, Connecticut; St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota; and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Quinlan spent the majority of his academic career at Boston College in Massachusetts, where he lectured for twenty years until his retirement in 1974. Quinlan lived in the Boston area and spent summers in Enfield, New Hampshire. He was also an avid traveler.

Quinlan’s work focused on eighteenth-century English literature. He was a member of the Johnson Society of London and published three books, including Victorian Prelude: A History of English Manners, 1700-1830 (1941), William Cowper, a Critical Life (1953), and Samuel Johnson: A Layman’s Religion (1964). Quinlan died on February 6, 1987 in Newton, Massachusetts.