Murphy, Richard (1903-1985) | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Richard Murphy was born on September 12, 1903 in Marienville, PA, to Mary F. Weaver (1867-1945) and Dennis J. Murphy (1855 or 1858-1926), an oil driller. Murphy attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned degrees in 1927 (BA), 1928 (MA), and 1939 (PhD, English).

Murphy worked as an Instructor of Public Speaking at the University of Pittsburgh from 1927-1935, as an Assistant Professor at University of Colorado Boulder circa 1940, and finally as a Professor of Speech at the University of Illinois from 1945-1971. He also served as editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech from 1957-1962.

Murphy married his wife, Theresa, in the late 1930s. The couple shared two children. Murphy died on September 30, 1985 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Urbana, IL.

“1930s Students,” History of the Department. Dietrich Schol of Arts & Sciences Department of English, University of Pittsburgh. https://www.english.pitt.edu/history-department/1930s/1930s-students.

Population Schedule for Champaign County, Illinois. ED 10-58, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950, NAID 43290879. Records of the Bureau of the Census, RG 29. National Archives, Washington, DC. https://1950census.archives.gov/search/?county=Champaign&name=richard%20murphy&page=4&state=IL.

Richard Murphy Papers, Illinois History and Lincoln Collections. https://archon.library.illinois.edu/ihlc/?p=collections/controlcard&id=148.

Richard Murphy Papers, University of Illinois Archives. https://archon.library.illinois.edu/archives/?p=collections/controlcard&id=3602.

WWII Draft Registration Cards For Colorado, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947, NAID: 5833895. Records of the Selective Service System, RG 147. National Archives at St. Louis. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/246615837?objectPage=1106.