Helen F. North (1922-2012) was an American classical scholar and an expert on Greek and Roman literature.
North was the daughter of James H. and Catherine (nee Debbold) North. A native of Utica, she was educated at Cornell University, where she studied Classics, gaining a Bachelor's degree in 1942, a Master's in 1943 and a doctorate in 1945. [1]
North taught at Rosary College, Illinois, before becoming a faculty member at Swarthmore College in 1948, where she remained until her retirement in 1991. [1] [2] During this time she also held visiting teaching appointments at Barnard College, Columbia University, Vassar College, and Cornell University, [3] where she gave the Charles Beebe Martin Classical lectures in 1972. The subject of the lectures was 'The Shield of Amphiaraus: Reflections of Greek Ethical Doctrine in Literature and Art', and they were later published as her book From Myth to Icon (Cornell University Press, 1979). [4]
She had a longstanding connection with the American Academy in Rome, beginning with her appointment as a World War II Fellow there 1942; she later served on the Board of Trustees (1972-1975 as ex-ofiicio member and elected trustee of the Advisory Council to the Classical School, then from 1977-1994 as a regular member of the Board). She was also a Resident there in 1980, then chaired the Committee on the Classical School (1981-1995). In 1995 she was awarded the Academy's Centennial Medal for her contributions to the welfare of the organisation. [5] From 1975-6 she was also a staff member at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where she was also Chair of the Committee on Publications from 1980-1982. [6]
In the course of her career she received several major academic awards, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Fulbright Fellowship, and awards from the Ford Foundation, and National Humanities Center as well as two awards from the Guggenheim Foundation. [3] She was president of the American Philological Association in 1976. [7]
In 1969 she received the Goodwin Award of the American Philological Association for her first book, Sophrosyne: Self-Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature (1966). [3] She also received honorary doctorates from Trinity College Dublin, Fordham University, La Salle University, and Yale University. [8]
After her retirement she remained connected to Swarthmore as Professor Emerita, and the Helen F. North lecture was founded in her honour in 2001. [2]
North was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1975 and the American Philosophical Society in 1991. [9] [10]