Remembering Herbert Barry III: Research Psychologist and Presidential Scholar

Herbert Barry (June 6, 1931–January 9, 2025) was a member of the Psychohistory Forum from our earliest days, a devoted scholar of presidents, and much else. He taught pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh (1963–2001), with an adjunct appointment in anthropology, before becoming emeritus. I asked him to join me in creating the Psychohistory Forum’s Research Group on Presidents and Presidential Candidates, and we often presented at various conferences on the same panels. We had to abandon our research project on correlating candidate height with presidential victory due to the unreliability of the evidence (candidates often lied about their height!). Herb, a keen student of presidents since childhood, co-authored an article with me on Bill Clinton and Ross Perot, introducing me to the full importance of birth order, which was quite valuable when I researched the first President Bush. Counting his publications led me to do the same as I worked past my writer’s block. On March 23, 2023, Professor Barry was honored with a Psychohistory Forum Lifetime Achievement Award.