J. Leeds Barroll III *56

Leeds died April 22, 2022, in Rockville, Md.

Born July 20, 1928, in Lausanne, Switzerland, he grew up in Philadelphia. He entered Harvard at the age of 15 and graduated in 1950. After teaching for two years at the Asheville School for Boys, Leeds earned a Ph.D. in English from Princeton in 1956.

He taught at the University of Texas, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), Vanderbilt, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

A Shakespeare scholar, Leeds founded the Journal of Shakespeare Studies. His interests included the historical context of Shakespeare’s plays and the relationship of the plague to the Shakespearean stage. He was a scholar in residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. 

His studies were interrupted by post-World War II military service. His duties included serving as a train conductor in occupied Japan, which led to a lifelong love of trains. When everyone else was traveling by plane, Leeds traveled as often as possible throughout the world by train.

Leeds is survived by his second wife of 38 years, Susan Zimmerman; and his children Leeds IV, James, and Ellen.

Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.