Ward, Barbara (1914–81)

Abstract

Barbara Ward was born on 23 May 1914 and died in Sussex on 31 May 1981. After graduating from Somerville College, Oxford, she moved rapidly from teaching and research to journalism, becoming assistant editor of The Economist in 1940 and later foreign editor. Although she later held appointments at Harvard and Columbia (from 1957 to 1973) and received numerous honorary degrees, the considerable influence she exercised over four decades on international development thinking and policy was primarily due to her masterful skills in popular communication as journalist, broadcaster, outstanding public speaker and author of a score of best-selling books.