Desmond M. Hamlet, Phd.

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DESMOND M. HAMLET, Ph.D

Dec. 8, 1933 - Sept. 14, 2007

Dr. Hamlet, age 73, died on Friday, September 14, 2007 at home with his family by his side. A ceremony to celebrate his life will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 21, 2007 in Swasey Chapel at Denison University in Granville. The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday September 20th at the McPeek Funeral Home, 133 S. Prospect, Granville (Phone: 740-587-0161). A graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday September 22nd in College Cemetery at Denison University.

He was born on December 8, 1933 in Georgetown, Guyana, South America to the late Nathaniel Clarence and Una (Smith) Hamlet. A recently retired full professor of English at Denison University and holder of Denison's Lorena Woodrow Burke Chair of English, Dr. Hamlet taught English, African-American, African and Post-Colonial Literature for over 22 years at Denison University; for 7 years at the University of Ife in Nigeria, West Africa; and for 6 years at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Hamlet holds a Bachelor of Arts in English summa cum laude from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Canada, and an M.A. and Ph.D in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He was a specialist on John Milton and the author of One Greater Man: Justice and Damnation in Paradise Lost (published by Bucknell University Press in 1976); several published articles and book chapters; a manuscript on the works of acclaimed Guyanese novelist Wilson Harris, and an unpublished novel.

Dr. Hamlet was also a dedicated community activist who served as Faculty Advisor to Denison University's Black Student Union for a decade and led efforts to increase diversity at Denison. Dr. Hamlet was the first faculty recipient of Denison's Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award in 2005 and was named Faculty Member of the Year by Denison's Cross Keys Honorary Society in 1988. He also served as Chair of Denison's English department from 1996 to 1999, and as Acting Head of the Department of Literature in English at the University of Ife.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Hamlet was passionate about reading, music, and theatre. He acted in two plays: as Prof. Drembitsky in Denison's 1990 production of POOR MURDERER and as God in Denison's 2002 production of EVERYMAN.

Desmond is survived by his wife of 47 years, Barbara F. Hamlet; daughter Sharon E. Hamlet of Brooklyn, NY; son and daughter-in-law Lawrence (Larry) L. and Michelle Hamlet of Rockville, MD; grandson Jonathan Weldon Hamlet; brother Kenneth Hamlet of Brooklyn, NY; sister Joyceline Berkley of Georgetown, Guyana, several nieces and nephews, in-laws and friends.