William Force Stead

Who was William Force Stead?

William Force Stead was an American diplomat and poet, who became an Anglican clergyman and chaplain of Worcester College, Oxford. He is best known for his editorial work on Christopher Smart.

He was born in Washington, D.C. and educated at the University of Virginia. He left the U.S. consular service around 1917 and was a student at Queen's College, Oxford, publishing verses in Oxford poetry. He was ordained and spent time in Italy, before returning to Oxford and Worcester College as a Fellow.

He was a friend of T. S. Eliot, and close to him at the time of his 1927 religious conversion.

He returned to an academic position in the USA in 1939. He died in Baltimore.