Charles Gott Collection

Born in Arlington, Massachusetts on September 29, 1887, Charles Gott was an ardent advocate for literature, drama, and education. After attending school in Arlington, Gott entered Tufts College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1911. While he was a student at Tufts, he and four of his fellow classmates founded Pen, Paint, and Pretzels, an organization designed to encourage dramatic interest amongst students through the production of original plays by Tufts students and graduates. Pen, Paint, and Pretzels still exists today as an umbrella organization for many other performing arts organizations at Tufts, including the Tufts Dance Collective, Traveling Treasure Trunk, and HYPE!. 

After attending Tufts, Gott continued his education at Harvard University, receiving a Master of Arts in 1914 and a doctorate in 1919 from the institute. Gott worked as an English Professor at Tufts from 1911-14, before leaving to work at Carnegie Tech. In 1925, he returned to Tufts and reorganized the English Department. In 1935, he became dean of the Tufts Graduate School. On February 18, 1938, Gott died in the Baker Memorial Hospital after suffering several weeks of illness at age 50. The new wing of Eaton Library that opened in 1950 contained the Gott reading room and memorial collection of literature. The collection was transferred to a new Gott reading room in Wessell Library (opened 1965), located in space now part of Tisch Library Level Three.