Bailey, J. O. (James Osler), 1903-1979

James Osler Bailey was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, 12 August 1903. He received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the PhD in 1934. He was a high school teacher for one year, was an assistant professor at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, and advanced from instructor to Alumni Distinguished Professor in the English Department, UNC-CH, 1927-1971. Under the auspices of the U. S. State Department, Bailey taught in Istanbul, Turkey, 1956-1957.

Bailey's principal scholarly interest was the work of Thomas Hardy, about which he published numerous essays and two books. Other interests included other writers of the Victorian period, the teaching of writing skills, and early science fiction (the subject of his dissertation). His books included Pilgrims Through Space and Time: Trends and Patterns in Scientific and Utopian Fiction (1947, reprinted 1972), Creative Exercises in College English: A Year's Work in the Practice of Writing and Reading (1952), Thomas Hardy and the Cosmic Mind: A New Reading of the Dynasts (1956), and The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: A Handbook and Commentary (1970).

Bailey married twice, first to Loretto Carroll, and second to Mary M. He had one daughter, Nancy. Bailey died 30 October 1979, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

From the guide to the James Osler Bailey Papers, 1924-1976, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)