George Leonard Barnett

RICHMOND, VA - George Leonard Barnett died on Feb. 10, 2013 at Hernrico Doctor's Hospital. A professor of English literature, Dr. Barnett had taught at Indiana University from 1942-1980. He was born Jan. 18, 1915 in Caldwell, N.J. and is the son of the late D'Arcy C. Barnett. He graduated from Randolf-Macon in 1936 with the A.B. degree and Phi Beta Kappa honors. He took his A.M. and Ph.D. degrees at Princeton University. He was awarded the honorary degree of Litt. D. by Randolf- Macon college in 1988. Dr. Barnett taught at Randolf-Macon from 1939-1941. From 1942-1944 he served as Supervisor of the English and Correspondence Division in the U.S. Naval Training School at Indiana University. He joined the Department of English in 1944, where he attained the rank of full professor and served until 1980, when he retired as senior professor of the Department, with the title Professor Emeritus of English. In 1962, he was visiting professor of English at the University of Colorado. He and his wife moved to Richmond, Va. in 1984. A specialist in the Romantic period, the novel, and the essay, Dr. Barnett was a leading authority on the works of Charles Lamb and was a lifelong member and Vice President of the International Charles Lamb Society. He was the author of Charles Lamb: The Evolution of Elia (1964), Charles Lamb (1976), and was a co-author of The English Romantic Poets and Essayists: A review of Research (1957 & 1966), sponsored by the Modern Language Association of America, of which he was a lifelong member. He was also a member of the American Association of University Professors. He published numerous articles in scholarly journals and was the editor of Eighteenth-Century British Novelists on the Novel (1968) and Nineteenth-Century British Novelists on the Novel (1971). He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Johanetta Usinger of Hanover, Va.; and son, George L. Barnett, Jr. Survivors include daughter, Mrs. Thomas (Mary) E. Barnett of Glen Allen, Va.; and a granddaughter, Mary Beth Elliott (Josh) of Glen Allen, Va.; a great grand-son, Colton Elliott; and another great grand-child expected in May. Burial will be in the family plot in Cambridge, Md. Fri., Feb. 15, 2013 at 11 a.m. Arrangements are being handled by the West chapel of Bennett Funeral Homes.