Herrlee Glessner Creel - Early Years

Early Years

Creel was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 19, 1905. His entire tertiary education was at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1926, an M.A. in 1927 and a PhD 1929 in Chinese Philosophy. He began his postdoctoral career as an assistant professor of psychology at Lombard College from 1929 to 1930. He was awarded fellowships by the American Council of Learned Societies (1930–1933), the Harvard-Yenching Institute (1931–1935) and the Rockefeller Foundation (1936, 1945 –1946). In 1936 he accepted a post at the University of Chicago, where he was an instructor in Chinese history and language from 1936 until he was appointed Assistant Professor of early Chinese literature and institutions in 1937. Creel was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1941 and full Professor in 1949. He served as a Lieutenant Colonel of military intelligence in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 during the Second World War. He remained as a professor until 1964, when he became the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Chinese History until 1974).