Barbara Aronstein Black
American legal scholar (1933–2026)
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Barbara Aronstein Black (May 6, 1933 – January 20, 2026) was an American legal scholar. She was the first woman to be a dean of an Ivy League law school[1] when she became the dean of Columbia Law School in 1986.[2][3] Black was the George Wellwood Murray Professor of Legal History at Columbia.[4]
Barbara Aronstein Black | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 6, 1933 Borough Park, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 20, 2026 (aged 92) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Spouse | Charles Black |
| Children | 3 |
Early life and career
Born and raised in Brooklyn on May 6, 1933,[5] Black received her B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1953,[6] her LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1955, and a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1975.[7] While at law school, she was editor of the Columbia Law Review.[8]
Black was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1989 and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1991.[5][9] She was also for two years the president of the American Society for Legal History.[7]
Her work was concentrated in the area of contracts and legal history. She received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award[10] and the Federal Bar Association Prize of Columbia Law School.[11]
Personal life and death
Barbara Black was the widow of the constitutional scholar and civil rights pioneer Charles Black.[4] They had three children, two sons and a daughter.[12][2] She left academia for a time to focus on raising her children, returning in 1965.[13] She died in Philadelphia on January 20, 2026, at the age of 92.[14]
