Wilson, Milton T.

Milton Thomas Wilson, a scholar of Romantic poetry and an editor of Canadian Forum, was born in Toronto in 1923 to Mr and Mrs G. S. Wilson. He attended St Andrew‟s College in Aurora, Ontario. In 1940, Wilson began studying English at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, but he interrupted his education in 1943 to serve in the Canadian navy during the Second World War. He returned to Toronto to obtain his BA and MA degrees in 1945 and 1946 respectively. He completed a PhD at Columbia University in 1957. After teaching briefly at the University of Syracuse, he was appointed lecturer at Trinity College in 1949. He became full professor in 1966 and professor emeritus in 1988. In 1975, Wilson became the first chair of the University of Toronto Department of English. (The English departments of the colleges at the University of Toronto had previously merged together under the direction of a committee of which Wilson was also chair.) Wilson worked as literary editor (1954-59) and managing editor (1959-68) of Canadian Forum. Among his publications are Shelley's Later Poetry (1959, republished 1974) and E. J. Pratt (1969). He is the editor of Poetry of Mid-Century (1964) and Poets Between the Wars (1967). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Wilson married Joanna Crawford, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Knox Crawford, on 6 September 1947.They had six children: Barbara, Katharine, Gregory, Victoria, Timothy, and Antony. Prof. Wilson died in Toronto on 22 March 2013.