Silverstein, Theodore,  1904-2001.
 medieval scholar

originally Hyman Theodore Silverstein.
dropped his first name Hyman as a condition to marry his student Mary Poindexter

HYMAN THEODORE SILVERSTEIN  '26mcl, Ph.D. '30, died September 1, 2001, in Chicago. He was a professor emeritus of English at the University of Chicago, where he taught from 1947 to 1973 and also chaired the Committee on Ideas and Methods. An eminent medievalist, he continued the work of a generation of American scholars who argued that the Dark Ages were in reality far from dark. His studies centered on three areas: the Apocalypse of Paul, the collected works of Dante, and a critical edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In 1942, at the age of 38, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces, becoming involved in the top-secret ENIGMA project; later he commanded an elite mobile intelligence unit that intercepted communications of German pilots and relayed them to Allied pilots, at one point requisitioning the Eiffel Tower for the purpose. He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He leaves his wife, Mary (Poindexter), and a sister, Mildred Nollman.

Publications:
    Medieval English lyrics
    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight