Swindler, Mary Hamilton (1884–1967)

US classical archaeologist. An authority on Crete and the Aegean world, she became a professor of classical archaeology in 1931. The first woman editor of the American Journal of Archaeology (1932–46), she expanded its scope and brought it international reputation. Her book Ancient Painting (1929) was her major work.

Swindler was born in Bloomington, Indiana. She earned her BA and MA at Indiana University (1905 and 1906), then went to Bryn Mawr College, where she earned her PhD in 1912, and stayed most of her life. She founded a museum at Bryn Mawr to teach students from original classical artefacts. After her retirement she continued to teach at Bryn Mawr and elsewhere.