Earl Showerman—In Memoriam

The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship is saddened to report the death of Earl Showerman on 2 August 2026. A prolific scholar, former SOF President, and 2025 Oxfordian of the Year, Earl was renowned in the authorship community as an energetic voice for the Oxfordian case, and for his original and groundbreaking research regarding Edward de Vere’s profound knowledge of untranslated Greek sources.

Earl was born in Detroit on June 6th, 1944. Prior to becoming a central figure in Shakespeare authorship scholarship and organizations, he had a 30-year medical career as a critical care surgeon in Medford, Oregon, having studied at Harvard and graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1977.

Following his retirement in 2003—and after attending numerous Shakespeare productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—Earl embarked on a second career as a Shakespeare scholar, first by enrolling at Southern Oregon University (SOU) and publishing his first peer-reviewed article in The Oxfordian the following year. Over the next two decades he would go on to publish more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles regarding Shakespeare’s apparent familiarity with primary Greek sources not available at the time in English translations—works which would be compiled in his 2025 book, Shakespeare’s Greater Greek: An Exploration of Greek Drama, Epic & History in the Works of Shakespeare.

In addition to his extensive research and writing concerning Shakespeare’s Greek influences, he would contribute his medical expertise to the book chapter “How did Shakespeare Learn the Art of Medicine?” in the 2013 edited collection, Shakespeare Beyond Doubt: Exposing an Industry in Denial.  

Earl served the SOF as its President from 2022-2024, and, in 2025, was recognized for his brilliant contributions to the field by being named Oxfordian of the Year.

In his private life, he was a longtime supporter of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and was known affectionately as the “Earl of Ashland.” 

Earl will be deeply missed by his friends and colleagues in the Shakespeare authorship community, to whom he was unfailingly supportive and generous, even in his final weeks. Memorial arrangements have not yet been announced.

If you would like to share a memory of Earl in the upcoming issue of the Shakespeare Oxford Newsletter, please send an email.