Barbara Wright (professor) explained

Barbara Wright (professor) should not be confused with Barbara Wright (translator).

Barbara Wright
Birth Date:3 August 1935
Nationality:Irish
Occupation:Professor
Alma Mater:Trinity College Dublin
University of Cambridge
Discipline:French studies

Barbara Wright (née Robinson, 8 March 1935 – 14 December 2019),[1] Emerita Professor of French at Trinity College, Dublin, was an Irish translator, notably of Eugène Fromentin, Charles Baudelaire and Gustave Moreau, as well as other nineteenth-century French writers, philosophers and artists.

Education and career

The only child of William Edward Robinson and Rosaleen née Hoskin, she grew up in Terenure, County Dublin, and attended Alexandra College before reading Law and French at TCD, graduating LLB in 1956, proceeding MA in 1960. She pursued further studies in French literature at Newnham College, Cambridge, taking a PhD in 1962.

Married to Professor Bill Wright in 1961, she lectured at the Universities of Manchester and Exeter, before returning to Trinity College, Dublin in 1965. She became one of the first four women to be elected a Fellow of TCD in 1968,[2] later serving as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and a Senior Fellow.[3]

Wright was a world expert on Eugène Fromentin and published extensively on his literature and paintings, as well as exploring connections through literary correspondence of the era.[4] [5] She was given honorary citizenship of La Rochelle, Fromentin's home town.

Honours and awards

Honours

Academic awards

Elected a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy and the Academia Europæa, Wright received Hon LittD (TCD) in 1995 and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2012.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Death Notice of Barbara Wright (née Robinson). RIP.ie. en. 17 December 2019.
  2. News: Barbara Wright obituary: Acclaimed scholar who broke Trinity glass ceiling. The Irish Times. en. 20 January 2020.
  3. Book: Webb, D.A. . Barlett . J.R.. 1992 . Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991 . Dublin . Trinity College Dublin Press . 1-871408-07-5.
  4. Book: Wright, Barbara, 1935–. Eugène Fromentin : a life in art and letters. 2000. Peter Lang. 3-906764-55-9. Bern. 43115171.
  5. Book: Wright, Barbara.. Trois dessins d'Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876) au musée des Beaux-arts de La Rochelle.. 2003. 886842858.
  6. Web site: Ms Barbara Wright named chevalier de la Légion d'honneur . France in Ireland . Embassy of France in Dublin . 18 December 2019.