Finding aid for the Gardner and Lois Murphy papers

Biography of Gardner Murphy and Lois Barclay Murphy

Gardner Murphy

Gardner Murphy was born on July 8, 1895 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Murphy began his studies at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. From there he went on to study at Yale University and graduated in 1916. He went on to pursue his masters degree at Harvard University which he received in 1917. During World War I Murphy enrolled in the American Expeditionary Forces. He then went on to serve with the Yale Medical Corps until the summer of 1919. In 1921 he began work as a lecturer in the field of psychology at Columbia University. While teaching, Murphy continued working on his Ph.D. completing it in 1923. Murphy became a professor in 1940 upon his move to the City College of New York.

Murphy's contributions to psychology were recognized through awards and appointments. In 1932 he was awarded the Butler Medal from Columbia University. In 1976 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hamburg in Germany. Murphy served as president of the American Psychological Association (APA) during the 1943-1944 term, and also received the APA Gold Medal Award in 1972. Murphy also served as president of the American Society for Psychical Research from 1965-1971. In addition, The American Society for Psychical Research Gardner Murphy Lecture Series bears his name.

Gardner Murphy died on March 18, 1979 in Washington, D.C.

Lois Barclay Murphy

Lois Barclay Murphy was born in 1902 in Lisbon, Iowa. She received the A. B. from Vassar College in 1923. From 1923 to 1927 she studied child psychology at the Psychological Laboratory of the Cincinnati Board of Education. In 1929 Barclay married psychologist Gardner Murphy, who was a professor at Columbia at the time. She then earned a PhD in psychology in 1937 from Columbia University. In 1938, Murphy received a B. D. in comparative religion from the Union Theological Seminary. She received a certificate in psychoanalytic training in 1960 from the Topeka Psychoanalytic Institute.

A prominent psychologist, Barclay Murphy studied projective techniques, child psychology, personality, cross-cultural psychology, and social psychology, teaching at Sarah Lawrence College for 24 years. A prolific author, Murphy published many books and journal articles. Murphy received the G. Stanley Hall Award in developmental psychology in recognition of her contributions to the field.

Murphy died in 2003 at the age of 101.

Scope and Content

The Gardner and Lois Murphy papers largely reflect Gardner Murphy's professional life. The collection contains a large amount of personal and professional correspondence. There are also manuscripts and draft notes of written works and lectures.

Photographs and negatives are located in boxes M1281 and M1301.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Various awards are located in Map Case 1, Drawer 2.

Subject Headings

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

Preferred Citation

Cite as: [identification of item], [folder number, box number], Archives of the History of American Psychology, The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology - The University of Akron

Other Finding Aid

View inventory for the Gardner and Lois Barclay Murphy papers.