G. Ernest Wright (September 5, 1909–August 29, 1974) B.A., College of Wooster; B.D., Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago; M.A. and PhD., Johns Hopkins University[]
G. Ernest Wright was a biblical archaeologist who studied under W. F. Albright while at Johns Hopkins. He taught at McCormick Theological Seminary from 1938-1958. From there he joined the faculty at Harvard Divinity School, where he was Parkman Professor of Divinity and Curator of the Semitic Museum.
Wright’s first archaeological field experience came in 1934 when he worked at Bethel with Albright. In 1956, he began the Drew-McCormick-ASOR expedition to Shechem, where he directed excavations roughly every other year through 1964, then served as an advisor through the 1966-73 seasons. In 1964-64, Wright began a ten year Hebrew Union College Biblical and Archaeological School expedition at Tell Gezer, which he directed for the first year. His final archaeological project was an expedition at Idalion, Cyprus (1971–1974).
Wright was known as an expert in Palestinian pottery and was an avid spokesperson for archaeology. He supported the use of archaeology in biblical criticism. He served as president of ASOR from 1966 until his death. He also was a founder of BA and editor for 25 years.