Background
John Cranford Adams was born on October 11, 1903, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of John Davis and Mary (Cranford) Adams.
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, United States
In 1926, Adams received a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and attained a Doctor of Philosophy in 1935 from the same university.
King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1ST, United Kingdom
From 1926 to 1928, Adams attended King's College in Cambridge.
John Cranford Adams was born on October 11, 1903, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of John Davis and Mary (Cranford) Adams.
In 1926, Adams received a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and attained a Doctor of Philosophy in 1935 from the same university. From 1926 to 1928, he also attended King's College in Cambridge.
From 1928 to 1929, Adams worked as an instructor in English at Syracuse University. Then, from 1930 to 1937, he worked as an instructor in English at Cornell University. From 1937 to 1943, he was an assistant professor there, and later, from 1943 to 1944, he was an associate professor of English at the same university.
In 1944 Adams became president of Hofstra College (now Hofstra University). In his early tenure there he worked on building a model of the Globe with the help of Long Island artist Irwin Smith. The project - a scale model one-twelfth the size of the real Shakespearean theater - was completed in 1950 and was made up of nearly 25,000 pieces.
Later, in 1958, a full-scale replica of the Globe stage was erected within Hofstra's new Campus Playhouse; an annual Shakespeare Festival also began at Hofstra utilizing the staging based on Adams's research. In addition to such work, Adams lectured at numerous universities and other groups about the staging of Shakespeare's plays.
In 1942, he published his book, The Globe Playhouse: Its Design and Equipment.
As president of Hofstra College, Adams witnessed growth in enrollment from 350 students in 1944 to over seven thousand full-and part-time students by 1958. The college began with one building and by 1958 had expanded into some eighteen buildings. The faculty during that time grew from forty to about 350 in 1958. Considered a proponent for the private college, Adams was opposed to the immediate establishment of a centralized state university for New York based on his belief that capacity at private colleges would increase during the next twelve years.
Adams was a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Malone Society, Cosmos Club, Grolier Club, University Club of New York.
Modern Language Association
1955 - 1986
Association of Colleges and Universities of the State of New York
1947 - 1952
New York State Education Department
1945 - 1952
American Council on Education Joint Committee on Educational Television
1953 - 1957
American Council on Education
1957 - 1958
Metropolitan Educational Television Association
1954 - 1986
Middle States Association
1956 - 1986
In 1929, Adams married Alice deBois Murray. They had two children: Charles Murray and Joan deBois.