Rufus B. (Rufus Byam) Richardson

Born in Westford, Massachusetts, in 1845, Rufus Byam Richardson studied at Yale, continued his training in Berlin, and later earned both a Ph.D. and a divinity degree. An obituary published by Dartmouth notes that he also served as a boy soldier in the Civil War before moving into an academic life centered on Greek language and literature.

Richardson taught Greek at Indiana University and then at Dartmouth College, where he served from 1882 to 1893. He went on to become director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens from 1893 to 1903, a period closely tied to major American archaeological work in Greece, including the school's responsibility for the excavations at Corinth. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1900.

Alongside teaching and administration, he wrote for both general readers and serious students of the ancient world. His works include Vacation Days in Greece, Greece Through the Stereoscope, and A History of Greek Sculpture, books that reflect his gift for making classical art and archaeology feel vivid and approachable.