Robert Norwood Keane ’55

Robert Norwood Keane ’55, Ph.D., died on December 21, 2013. He came to Dartmouth after having graduated from Forest Hills High School. He majored in English and was the managing editor of The Dartmouth in his senior year. Following graduation he received an M.A. from Columbia in 1957 and in 1965 a Ph.D., majoring in Victorian literature. Bob was a president’s fellow during 1962 to 1963. He joined the faculty at Hofstra University in 1959 and became the chairman of the English department in 1978. During his tenure at Hofstra Bob published several books, one on the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, another on Oscar Wilde and a third titled Baseball and the “Sultan of Swat”: Babe Ruth at 100. Some of his material was personally gleaned by Bob as a child. He met Babe and accompanied him on his off-season golf outings. Bob retired in 2003 and was living at the time of his death with his wife, Doris, in an assisted living community. He is survived by Doris and son Martin and his wife, Janet, as well as two grandchildren.