Ruth French Carnovsky


Ruth French Carnovsky was an American educator, classical philologist, and librarian.

Early life and education

Ruth and her family moved from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to De Pere, Wisconsin, shortly after her birth. In 1928, she went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She then began studying Greek and Classical Archaeology at Yale University. In 1935, she earned her Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Illinois Chicago. She later received a B.S. in Library Science from the University of Minnesota in 1945.

Career

After receiving her B.A., she began teaching Latin and Humanities at Iberia Junior College in Iberia, Missouri. She later worked as an art librarian at the Minneapolis Public Library from 1945 to 1948. From 1949 to 1953, she served as an associate professor at the University of Denver's School of Librarianship, teaching courses in cataloging and classification. This was followed by a year as a visiting professor at Keio University in Tokyo. Ruth then began teaching at the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School from 1954 to 1971, serving as the GLS dean during the 1960's. She ultimately retired as a professor emeritus.

Personal life

She married her first husband, Donald Everett Strout, on January 1, 1935, whom she divorced in 1953. She later married Leon Carnovsky in 1967, whom she stayed married to until his death in 1975.

Death and legacy

Ruth Carnovsky died on November 11, 2003 in Oakland, California.

Works