In 1909 when Weaver was an undergraduate, he came across Melville's first book, Typee, but "stopped at the beginning," as he later wrote, and did not return to Melville for another decade.
Weaver first taught at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, then was hired by Columbia to replace a socialist professor who had been fired because of his peace activities (Weaver left to teach again at Brooklyn Polytechnic, only to return to Columbia for good in 1922).