Jens Christian Bay

Who was Jens Christian Bay?

Jens Christian Bay was a Danish American writer and librarian.

Born in Rudkøbing, Denmark, Bay came to the United States in 1892 and took a position with the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. He later worked for the Library of Congress and, in 1905, became a librarian at the John Crerar Library at the University of Chicago. From 1928 to 1947 he was chief librarian of the Crerar Library.

Bay was recognized as an authority on many subjects, including rare books, but was particularly interested in botany, English literature, and the history of the American Midwest. He was a long-time friend of Young E. Allison, an author and newspaper editor of Louisville, Kentucky. Bay and Allison shared a variety of interests, including the history of Kentucky, Stephen Foster, James Whitcomb Riley, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Dickens. Bay was also interested in the literature his native Denmark, and was knighted by King Frederick IX in 1947.

He died in Chicago in 1962.