The first Shakespeare Fellowship, originally devoted to the study of the
Shakespeare authorship but endorsing no particular candidate, was founded in England in 1921 after conversations between
J. Thomas Looney, the founder of Oxfordian theory, and
Sir George Greenwood a prominent anti-Stratfordian who had never declared his support for any particular alternative author. Bernard Rowland Ward was its principal organiser. It maintained worldwide membership, chiefly in the UK and the United States. Greenwood was made president. Leading supporters of the most prominent alternative candidates were made vice-presidents, including Looney, representing the Oxfordian position, the
Baconian William T. Smedley, and the
Derbyite Abel Lefranc.
Percy Allen was elected in 1944 to replace Douglas, but he resigned after losing a vote of confidence when he declared his intention to use Spiritualist means to research the authorship question. After a vacancy in 1946 Admiral Hubert Holland served (1946–1955), followed by Judge
Christmas Humphreys. Under Humphreys, the group changed its name to "The Shakespearean Authorship Society" in 1959, later becoming "The Shakespearean Authorship Trust", the name it currently uses. Oxfordian scholar and journalist
Charles Wisner Barrell was secretary and treasurer of the group during the 1940s, and also was editor of two of the group's publications, the
Shakespeare Fellowship Newsletter (1939–1943) and the
Shakespeare Fellowship Quarterly (1944–1948). After returning home to the United States, Barrell set up the American branch of the Shakespeare Fellowship. It was incorporated in 1945. Oxfordian author and attorney
Charlton Greenwood Ogburn provided legal assistance in incorporating the organisation. ==Second
Shakespeare Fellowship==