View source for Benjamin Fletcher Wright

{{Infobox person
| name          = <!-- defaults to article title when left blank -->
| image         = Benjamin Fletcher Wright, photo.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       =
| birth_name    = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1900|02|08}}
| birth_place   = [[Austin, Texas]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1976|11|28|1900|02|08}}
| death_place   = Austin, Texas
| other_names   =
| occupation    = Author, educator
| education         =  {{ubl|[[B.A.]], [[M.A.]] – [[University of Texas]] (1921)|[[Ph.D]] – [[Harvard University]]}}
| years_active  =
| known_for     = President of [[Smith College]], 1949–1959
| notable_works =
| spouse             = {{married|Alexa Rhea|1926}}
| children           = 2
}}
'''Benjamin Fletcher Wright''', Jr. (1900-1976), was an author and educator who was an authority on United States Constitutional law. He was the President of [[Smith College]] and also was a member of the faculties at the [[University of Texas]]. and  [[Harvard University]], with many works to his credit.
==Early life and education==
Wright was born in [[Austin, Texas]], on February 8, 1900. His parents were Benjamin F. and Mary (Blandford) Wright. He had an interest in political science, and government, that developed at an early age, with a particular interest in [[Thomas Jefferson]] he acquired in grade school. Wright graduated from the [[University of Texas]] in 1921, where he earned a B.A. and M.A. degrees. In 1925 he attended [[Harvard University]] where he earned a Ph.D.  In 1926, he married Alexa Rhea, whose marriage brought two children.<ref name=smith2023>[[#smith|WordPress; Smithipedia]], biographical profile</ref>
==Career==
Wright taught at the University of Texas from 1922 to 1926. In late 1926 Wright began teaching at Harvard from 1926 until coming to Smith in 1949. While at Harvard, he was the chairman of the Government department and served on the special Harvard Committee on General Education. He was a member of the Harvard faculty: from 1928 to 1940  an assistant professor, from 1940 to 1945 as associate professor and from 1945 to 1949 as a full professor.<ref name=nyt1976>[[#nyt|New York Times, November 30, 1976]], p. 42</ref>  Wright was one among several authors of the "renowned" report published in 1945 by the Committee entitled, ''general Education in a Free Society''. In 1949 he became the fifth president of [[Smith College]], serving until 1959.<ref name=library1959>[[#library|Smith College Library]]</ref><ref name=smithcollege>[[#smithcollege2023|Smith College, 2023]], President's profiles</ref>  After leaving Smith College, Wright she became a fellow for a term of one year at the center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, at [[Stanford University]] in California. In 1950 he returned to the University of Texas as a professor of government where he taught until the year before his death.<ref name=smith2023/><ref name=smithcollege/><ref name=nyt1976/>
"The Office of the President: Benjamin Wright Papers" are in the possession of Smith College Library and are primarily related to his official duty while he served as President of Smith College. The papers consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports,   legal documents, speeches, minutes, and newspaper articles.<ref name=library1959/>
Wright died  on Sunday, November 28, 1976, at his home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 76.<ref name=smith2023/><ref name=nyt1976/>
==Works==
Wright's works include:
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |title=The Contract Clause Of The Constitution |authorlink=Benjamin Fletcher Wright  |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1938 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.275902/page/n1/mode/2up |ref=wright1938}}
*   ——  (1929)  ''A source book of American political theory''
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |authorlink=Benjamin Fletcher Wright |author-mask=2 |title=General Education in a Free Society: Report of the Harvard Committee |volume= |publisher=Harvard University. Committee on the Objectives of a General Education in a Free Society |year=1945 |isbn= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reo3AAAAIAAJ |ref=wright1945}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |title=The growth of American constitutional law |volume= |authorlink=Benjamin Fletcher Wright |author-mask=2 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |year=1946 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/growthofamerican0000wrig/page/n5/mode/2up |ref=wright1946}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |authorlink=Benjamin Fletcher Wright |author-mask=2 |title=American interpretations of natural law, a study in the history of political thought |volume= |publisher=Russell & Russell |location=New York |year=1962 |isbn=978-0-2927-2407-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/americaninterpre0000wrig/page/n5/mode/2up |ref=wright1962}}
* ——; (ed.) (1962) ''The Federalist''
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* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |title=Consensus and continuity, 1776-1787 |volume=  |author-mask=2  |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |location=New York |year=1967 |isbn=<!--978-0-3132-2951-0--> |url=https://archive.org/details/consensuscontinu0000wrig/page/n9/mode/2up |ref=wright1967}}
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* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Benjamin Fletcher |title=5 Public Philosophies of Walter Lippmann |volume= |authorlink=Benjamin Fletcher Wright |author-mask=2 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, Texas |year=2015 |orig-year=1973 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/5publicphilosoph00benj |ref=wright1973}}
==See also==
* [[Bibliography of the United States Constitution]]
* [[Founding Fathers of the United States]]
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{cite web |first= |last= |title=Benjamin Fletcher Wright |publisher=WordPress: Smithipedia |year=2023 |accessdate=May 5, 2023 |url=https://blogs.smith.edu/blog/smithipedia/administration/president-benjamin-fletcher-wright/ |ref=smith}}
* {{cite web |title=Smith College Presidents |publisher=[[Smith College]], Massachusetts |accessdate=May 5, 2023 |url=https://www.smith.edu/about-smith/presidents |ref=smithcollege2023}}
* {{cite web |first= |last= |title=Benjamin Fletcher Wright papers |publisher=[[Smith College]] Library |year=2023 |accessdate=May 5, 2023 |url=https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/4/resources/46 |ref=library}}
* {{cite news |newspaper=New York Times |last= |first= |date=November 30, 1976 |page=42  |title=Benjamin Wright, Educator, Authority On Constitution Law |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/30/archives/benjamin-wright-educator-authority-on-constitution-law.html  |url-status= |work= |location=New York, NY |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=May 5, 2023 |ref=nyt }}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Texas alumni]]
[[Category:University of Texas faculty]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:Academics from Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:American scholars of constitutional law]]