Henry Murphy (architect)

Henry Killam Murphy
Henry Murphy (right) with his wife Rosalie Smith Exum
Born	(1877-08-19)19 August 1877 New Haven, Connecticut
Died	12 October 1954(1954-10-12) (aged 77) Branford, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Architect
Projects	University of Shanghai, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Ginling College, Nanking, Yale-in-China, Changsha, Rikkyo University, Tokyo

Henry Killam Murphy (August 19, 1877 – October 12, 1954) was an American architect noted for his design of educational establishments in the North-East of the United States, China and Japan.

Henry Killam Murphy was born in 1877 in New Haven, Connecticut to parents Alice Button Killam and John Murphy.

Murphy attended the Hopkins School, graduating in 1895. He then went on to study at Yale University graduating in 1899 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After a year spent at the Yale Graduate School preparing for a career as an architect, Murphy was first employed in this capacity in the New York City offices of Tracey and Startwout in 1900.

In 1906 Murphy opened his own firm with Yale University instructor, Richard Henry Dana Jr., a business partnership that lasted until 1921. Together they took on work such as designing the early Loomis Chaffee campus in 1912, and successfully earned commissions to design numerous private residential and college academic buildings in the North East of the United States, in China and in Japan. Examples of their architectural work still extant include the historic administration buildings, old library and college chapel of Rikkyo University in Tokyo.

After Dana left in 1921, the firm continued as Murphy, McGill & Hamlin until 1924 when Murphy established his own independent practice.

Murphy, both in partnership and independently, designed a wide range of buildings throughout his career, including several buildings in his home state of Connecticut. Murphy worked for his alma mater Hopkins School, designing the early campus in 1922 and center building Baldwin Hall in 1925.

During his career Murphy made eight trips to China, the first for a few weeks in 1914, the last and longest from 1931 to 1935. In 1919, he was in charge of designing the campus of University of Shanghai (now University of Shanghai for Science and Technology). In the early 1920s, Murphy designed several landmark buildings for Tsinghua University, Beijing, including The Grand Auditorium and the Main Library. He was an advocate of traditional Chinese architectural styles, adapted to modern uses.