• Date of Birth: September 25, 1904
  • Born City: Providence
  • Born State/Country: RI
  • Parents: John Francis & Mary Quinn M.
  • Date of Death: October 28, 1988
  • Death City: Pawtucket
  • Death State/Country: RI
  • Education:

    B.A. Pembroke Coll., 1925; postgrad. ASCSA, 1925-7; M.A. U. Missouri, 1927; Ph.D. Yale, 1929; Litt.D. Brown, 1980.

  • Dissertation:

    "The Originality of Lucian's Satiric Dialogues" (Yale, 1929).

  • Professional Experience:

    Instr. to prof. Gk. Wellesley, 1929-55; Ellen A. Kendall prof. Gk., 1955-70; lctr. Holy Cross Coll., 1970-4; mng. comm. ASCSA, 1932-70; ann. prof. 1957-8; vis. prof. Brandeis U., 1973; pres. CANE, 1956-7; Barlow-Beach Award CANE, 1978.

  • Publications:

    "Line Omissions in Homeric Papyri since 1925," CP 27 (1932) 151-5; "Lucian and Menippus," YCS 4 (1934) 3-58; Elizabeth Browning to Mr. Boyd (ed.) (New Haven, 1955).

  • Notes:

    A dedicated and energetic teacher, as well as a persuasive promoter of the Classics, Barbara McCarthy won the affection and respect of generations of Wellesley students. By the sheer force of her personality, she made Greek one of the most visible subjects at that college. The Greek plays (in Greek) that she instituted in 1934 and directed drew audiences from around New England. Valued by her faculty colleagues for her wit and candor, she served on many important faculty committees; after her retirement, she continued to serve as an informal (and amusing) historian of Wellesley traditions.

  • Sources:

    APA Newsletter (Feb. 1989) 15; M. Lefkowitz, "In Memoriam," Wellesley 73.2 (1989) 26-7; WhWh 1978-9: 2139; WhAmW 1970-1: 812.

  • Author: Mary Lefkowitz