Brunilde Ridgway facts for kids

Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway (born November 14, 1929 – died October 19, 2024) was an amazing Italian-American archaeologist. She was an expert in ancient Greek sculpture, which means she studied old statues and art from ancient Greece.

Her Early Life and Learning English

Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway was born in Chieti, Italy. Her father was an army officer, so her family moved a lot. When she was young, they lived in Sicily and then in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Her father was stationed there during World War II. This means he was sent there for his military duties.

During the war, her father was captured and became a prisoner. He was sent to a camp in Kenya. To help her family, young Brunilde got a job as a telephone operator in Asmara, Eritrea. This job was very important because it helped her learn to speak English.

Education and Becoming an Archaeologist

After World War II ended, Brunilde went to the University of Messina in Italy. She studied classics, which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman cultures. She earned her degree in classics in 1953.

Brunilde loved learning, and she received a special scholarship and a Fulbright Travel Grant. These awards helped her continue her studies in the United States at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There, she learned from a famous teacher named Rhys Carpenter.

She focused on archaeology, which is the study of human history through digging up old sites and objects. For her master's degree, she wrote about Archaic sculpture at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in Greece. She earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in 1958.

Teaching and Achievements

After finishing her studies, Brunilde Ridgway returned to Bryn Mawr College as a teacher. She spent most of her career there, sharing her knowledge with students.

In 1977, she became the Rhys Carpenter Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. This was a very important position. She held this job until she retired in 1994.

Brunilde Ridgway was highly respected for her work. In 1988, she won the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America. This is a top award for archaeologists. In 1993, she was chosen to be a member of the American Philosophical Society, a group of important thinkers.

She married Henry W. Ridgway, a physical therapist, in 1958. Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway passed away on October 19, 2024, in Haverford, Pennsylvania.