Septuagenarian Receives A.B.; Oldest Harvard Graduate Ever

William M. Murphy, a 78-year-old resident of Somerville, this morning became William M. Murphy '73-46, as he was awarded an A.B. degree in Extension studies at Commencement, thus concluding 46 years of intermittent study during the summer and at night.

Murphy, a retired post office employee and former artist's model, is the oldest man ever to receive an A.B. degree from Harvard, and his academic career here is one of the longest.

Murphy began his academic career in 1927. Then 35, he took a Summer School course in Government. He continued to study intermittently at the Summer School through 1936, when he dropped out because of the press of civic responsibilities.

He re-entered the academic world in 1966, enrolling in Extension School courses and concentrating in Government and English.

Murphy plans to continue his education, not merely content with an undergraduate degree. "Those are only the first two letters in the alphabet- that's not enough for one man, even at my age."

Murphy had a dual career as an employee of the Boston post office and as an artist's model. John Singer Sargent, the painter and muralist, spotted him at a YMCA calisthenics class and hired him as a model.

Murphy worked for Sargent until 1933, and the experience he gained with Sargent launched him on a lengthy carer as a model for many other artists. He currently teaches corrective anatomy, which he describes as the "missing link between medicine and surgery."

"I don't strain the muscles but train them," he said.