C. R. Jury
| Charles Rischbieth Jury | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 September 1893 Glenelg, South Australia |
| Died | 22 August 1958 (aged 64) North Adelaide, South Australia |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Years active | 1906-1958 |
Charles Rischbieth Jury (13 September 1893 – 22 August 1958), generally known by his initials or full name, was a poet and academic in Adelaide, South Australia, who spent much of his working life in Europe.
Charles was born in Glenelg, South Australia to George Arthur Jury (c. 1851 – 9 April 1932) and his second wife Elizabeth Susan "Betty" Jury, née Rischbieth (1867 – 14 June 1929), whom he married on 9 September 1890. George was an accountant with wholesaler G. & R. Wills, later a partner and managing director. His first wife Margaret "Maggie" (née Wiedenhofer) took her own life; Elizabeth Susan Jury was the daughter of G & R Wills partner Charles Rischbieth (1835 – 5 April 1893) and his wife Elizabeth Susan née Wills (7 November 1842 – 15 January 1908)
He was educated at F. I. Caterer's Glenelg Grammar School and at St. Peter's College. He entered Magdalen College, Oxford in 1913, but broke his studies to enlist in the British Army in the early days of WWI, and was badly wounded at Ypres in 1915 and returned to civilian life and his studies in March 1916. He graduated with a first in English Literature. A gratuity from his father made him financially independent, and free to follow his first loves: poetry and English literature. He found the climate in Greece and Italy, especially Taormina and Catania in Sicily, more conducive to writing than either England or Australia, but did return to Adelaide on occasion. He took various lecturing and tutoring positions at St. Mark's College and the University of Adelaide.
His mother in 1921 founded the Jury Chair of English Language and Literature in memory of her late husband; Professor Archibald Strong was its first incumbent in 1922, succeeded by J. I. M. Stewart around 1933; Charles, who had been informally offered the Chair several times but declined, finally accepted it in 1946, but only on condition that Herbert Piper should be offered it once he had completed his studies at Magdalen College, Oxford. (With a change in administration, Piper was not offered the chair, which Jury saw as a betrayal, and appointed David Nichol Smith instead.) Later appointments included Norman "Derry" Jeffares in 1951, Colin Horne in 1957 and John Colmer in 1977. Penny Boumelha filled the chair in 1990, which has been vacant since 2009.
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