William Bell Dinsmoor, Jr.

William Bell Dinsmoor Jr. (July 2, 1923 – July 7, 1988) was an American classical archaeologist and architectural historian.

Biography

He was born on July 2, 1923, in New York City to William Bell Dinsmoor and Zillah F. Pierce (1886–1960).

Dinsmoor studied at Phillips Exeter Academy and Columbia University, taking time out for active service in the military during World War II in India and China. He received a B.A. in modern languages in 1947 and degrees in architecture: Bachelor’s (1947) and Master’s (1951) from Columbia University. He married Mary Higgins on September 4, 1948. That marriage produced four children: Margaret Park Dinsmoor, Diane Marie Dinsmoor, William Bell Dinsmoor III, and Robert Davidson Dinsmoor. . In the 1950s, Dinsmoor worked as an architect in Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso Texas. They divorced on January 7, 1966 in El Paso, Texas. Dinsmoor moved to Greece to assist Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt with her survey of Greek architectural moulding and Carl Blegen on his books on Troy and Pylos. He subsequently married Anastasia N. Dinsmoor. That marriage produced a son, Paul Dinsmoor. In the field, Dinsmoor worked with Oscar Broneer and helped publish the finds of the temple of Poseidon in Athens. In 1966 Dinsmoor was appointed architect for the archeological excavations of the Agora in Athens, a position which he held until his death. He received the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1969 from the Archaeological Institute of America.

Dinsmoor's main research focused on the propylaia to the acropolis in Athens, working to study its construction and establish its configuration during various phases. He died on July 7, 1988, in Athens, Greece.

Dinsmoor's papers are archived in Athens at the American School of Classical Studies.