He graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1956, where he was a student of
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, and from
Columbia University with a Ph.D. in 1969. He taught at
Stanford University between 1964 and 1969, and was a post-doctoral fellow for three years at the Institute of Early American History and Culture in
Williamsburg, Virginia, 1969–1972. In 1972 he was appointed Editor of Publications at the institute. From 1983 to 2006, he was Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at
Brown University. ==Awards==