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Barbara Wright (professor)

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Barbara Wright
Born(1935-08-03)3 August 1935
Died14 December 2019(2019-12-14) (aged 84)
NationalityIrish
OccupationProfessor
Academic background
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
University of Cambridge
Academic work
DisciplineFrench studies

Barbara Wright (née Robinson, 8 March 1935 – 14 December 2019),[1][2] Emerita Professor of French at Trinity College, Dublin,[3] was an Irish translator, notably of Eugène Fromentin, Charles Baudelaire and Gustave Moreau, as well as other nineteenth-century French writers, philosophers and artists.[4]

Education and career

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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.[3] She became one of the first four women to be elected a Fellow of TCD in 1968,[5] later serving as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and a Senior Fellow.[6]

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.[7][8] She was given honorary citizenship of La Rochelle, Fromentin's home town.[5]

Honours and awards

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Honours

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Academic awards

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Elected a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy and the Academia Europæa,[10] Wright received Hon LittD (TCD) in 1995 and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2012.

References

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  1. ^ Barbara Wright (née Robinson), b. 1935 (Recording I) and Barbara Wright, b. 1935 (Recording II), Irish Life & Lore
  2. ^ "Death Notice of Barbara Wright (née Robinson)". RIP.ie. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Curriculum vitae, retrieved 27 May 2017
  4. ^ Publications, retrieved 27 May 2017
  5. ^ a b "Barbara Wright obituary: Acclaimed scholar who broke Trinity glass ceiling". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  6. ^ Webb, D.A. (1992). J.R., Barlett (ed.). Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin Press. ISBN 1-871408-07-5.
  7. ^ Wright, Barbara, 1935– (2000). Eugène Fromentin : a life in art and letters. Bern: Peter Lang. ISBN 3-906764-55-9. OCLC 43115171.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Wright, Barbara. (2003). Trois dessins d'Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876) au musée des Beaux-arts de La Rochelle. OCLC 886842858.
  9. ^ "Ms Barbara Wright named chevalier de la Légion d'honneur". France in Ireland. Embassy of France in Dublin. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  10. ^ Academia Europaea, retrieved 27 May 2017