Allisonian Firsts: Frank Parker Day

Frank Parker Day was born on 9 May 1881 in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. He was the son of George Frederick Day (1844-1911) and Keziah Mabel (Hardwick) (1853-?). He had a distinguished academic career, earning degrees from Mount Allison University (1903) and Oxford University (1907, 1909), where he was Mount Allison's first Rhodes Scholar. After completing a first degree at Oxford, Day spent two semesters at the University of Berlin before returning to England to teach at the University of Bristol. He took further classes at Oxford and received a Master of Arts. He distinguishing himself by winning the Oxford heavyweight boxing championship and later the combined Oxford and Cambridge championship.

In 1909, Day returned to Canada to take up a professorship in the English Department at the University of New Brunswick. On 1 January 1910, he married Mabel Killam of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, whom he had met at Mount Allison. In 1912, they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Day was appointed Head of the English Department at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. At the outbreak of World War I, they returned to Canada where Day enlisted with the Canadian Forces, first serving with the 85th Canadian Infantry Battalion and later recruiting for and commanding the 185th Cape Breton Highlanders. He was promoted to Lt.-Col. on the field at Amiens. During the war, he and his wife had their first and only child, Donald Frank. As Day notes in an autobiographical sketch: "The wartime babies of officers in our regiment were all named Donald because our regimental song was 'Donald from Bras d'Or'."

After the war, Day returned to the Carnegie Institute of Technology as Director of Academic Studies and Dean of Freshmen. He left to teach at Swathmore College for two years following the publication of his first novel, and then in 1928 was appointed President of Union College. His term was brought to a premature halt when ill health compelled him to resign in 1933. He spent the remaining years until his death on 30 July 1950 at Lake Annis and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.