Sponsored by the Association for Diplomatic Studies in cooperation with Georgetown University, the program's transcripts of interviews with retired senior American foreign affairs officials, both career and non-career, are made available to researchers in the Special Collections Division. As of early 1996 the program had completed some 650 transcripts, with about 50 added each year. The interviews generally cover an official's entire career, both in the United States and abroad. The time span covered ranges from the 1920s to the present, though interviews on experience after World War II are most numerous. A series of country "readers" have been made, excerpting from the interviews those portions which pertain to a particular country, both from service in that country and from the Washington perspective. These readers constitute an ongoing project and are updated regularly. Some 30 have been completed, including ones dealing with China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Israel, the Soviet Union, France, Nigeria, Colombia, and Chile. Typical of the people interviewed are Dr. Robert Bowie, head of policy planning in the Dulles period, and ambassadors Marshall Green, Douglas MacArthur II, and Samuel Lewis. The collection also includes interviews conducted by the United States Information Agency Alumni Association, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and the Foreign Service Family History Project, as well as interviews done by Ann Morin with almost all living women ambassadors. A new project has started concentrated on the work of officials of the Agency for International Development.
List of the first 500+ interviews
List of interviews as of April 1, 1996
Sample interview - Ambassador Bruce Laingen
Carroll Spence Papers
The papers derive largely from Spence's service
as minister resident (1853-1856) and envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary (1856-1857) to the Sublime Porte, during which time he was
instrumental, with Rev. William Goodell, in establishing the Protestant Bible
Society in Constantinople. The collection includes letters from Louis Kossuth
and Austen Henry Layard, among others.
1822-1888 * 1.75 linear feet
Byington Family Papers
The archive consists of the papers of A. Homer
Byington, Civil War correspondent and U. S. consul in Naples (1897-1907), and
those of his grandson, Homer M. Byington I, who served for 47 years in the
foreign service, in the 1930s as Chief of Personnel. Included are letters from
both men to family and friends (and a long series A. Homer wrote to E. C.
Frisbie) as well as letters from poet Edmund C. Stedman and diplomats Wilbur J.
Carr, William R. Castle, Jr., and James B. Stewart. Appropriately, there is
also much about Connecticut, as the elder Byington had been a noted journalist
and publisher in Norwalk.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence E. Hinkle
1864-1966 * 1.50 linear feet
Papers, correspondence, and diaries of the first
American ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1919-1921), providing insight into
American attitudes towards the new nation. Prior to this appointment Crane
served as private secretary to United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing
(1915-1919). A large portion of the papers relates to Crane's ownership and
operation of Westover, the former Byrd plantation in Virginia, and to his
active involvement in local cultural and civic affairs. A substantial further
donation of correspondence relating to the Russian 1917 Revolution, some from
Crane's father, Charles, and photographic materials was made in 1990.
Finding aid to additional accession also available.
Gift of Bruce Crane Fisher
1900-1938 * 40.25 linear feet
Cornelius Van H. Engert Papers
Letters, manuscripts, and related material
document Engert's service in such posts as Kabul, Constantinople, Teheran,
Havana, Santiago, Addis Ababa, and the Hague. There is extensive correspondence
with a variety of authors, explorers, diplomats, and statesmen such as Gertrude
Bell, Sir Reader Bullard, William J. Donovan, Cordell Hull, Allen W. Dulles (a
long series), Sir Percy Loraine, Victor Mallet, and John G. Winant. The
collection also includes material relating to Engert's career after 1945, as
well as to Sir Aurel Stein and Dorothy Thompson (the latter in connection with
the Arab-Israeli struggle for Palestine and her cooperation with Engert in
founding the American Friends of the Middle East). Supplementing the papers are
a large number of photographs providing in part a valuable record of Engert's
time as the first American ambassador in Afghanistan.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roderick M. Engert
1896-1980 * 24.00 linear feet
Hamilton King Papers
Papers of the American minister to Siam from
1898 to 1912, which include a good deal of correspondence relating to
diplomatic matters. An important supplement is the lengthy series of diaries
kept by King's wife, 1898-1915, which provide a detailed view of diplomatic
life in Siam at the time.
Gift of Cora Lee King Rose and Anne Lee Stewart
1898-1915 * 10.25 linear feet
Robert F. Kelley Papers
Reports, correspondence, and related materials
touching largely on Kelley's service as chief of the Division of Eastern
European Affairs, Department of State (1926-1937) and on his role in the
founding and early years of Radio Liberty. Of principal interest are papers
bearing on American-Russian relations in the years leading up to American
recognition of the Soviet government in 1933.
Gift of the estate of Robert F. Kelley
1922-1972 * 7.50 linear feet
The papers fully document Lodeesen's careers as
a foreign service officer and as a senior administrator with Radio Liberty,
first as Director of the Russian Service and later as Director of Research and
Policy. Materials cover most aspects of the radio's operation, including
policy, programming, and Soviet audience response, and there are also
interesting research files for a proposed history of Radio Liberty.
Gift of Mrs. Lodeesen
1968-1992 * 16.50 linear feet
Garret G. Ackerson, Jr., Papers
The collection consists primarily of letters
from Ackerson to his parents and other family members. The letters offer
considerable information on current affairs in Ackerson's various stations, the
most important being the lengthy series written from Budapest in the years
immediately leading up to World War II.
Gift of Edmund E. Ackerson, Garret G. Ackerson III, and
Rhoda Weyr
1923-1976 * 4.50 linear feet
The papers consist of manuscripts of McFall's
writings and speeches, correspondence (largely relating to his various
career appointments and as ambassador to Finland in 1952-1955), subject files,
and a large collection of signed photographs. Of particular interest are the
files relating to his service as U. S. Naval Observer in Sierra Leone,
1942-1943.
Gift of William O. Boswell
1925-1990 * 3.25 linear feet
The Wilson Papers are made up of two distinct
units. The first consists of a series of illustrated typescript diaries
documenting Wilson's services as Consul General in Australia, 1937-1941, and
later as American commissioner to India and minister to Iraq. The other part of
the collection is made up of some 3,500 photographic prints and negatives that
demonstrate Wilson's development as an excellent amateur photographer and
record his travels in Asia, Africa,
and Europe, as well as in those
countries in which he was stationed.
Gift (photographs) of Frederick B. Scheetz
ca. 1899-1942 * 5.00 linear feet
The papers amply document Lyon's 37-year career
in the Foreign Service, from his initial posting to Havana in 1930 to his
ambassadorships to Chile (1956-1958) and Ceylon (1964-1968) and as minister
and deputy chief of mission in Paris (1958-1964). The more than 3,500 incoming
letters include items from a host of both American and foreign notables.
Special notice should be made of correspondences with Dean Acheson, Norman
Armour, Claude G. Bowers, Allen W. Dulles, John Foster Dulles, Joseph C. Grew
(Lyon's father-in-law), and Henry Cabot Lodge.
Gift of Ambassador Lyon
1930-1971 * 29.25 linear feet
J. Graham Parsons Papers
The papers comprise personal and professional
correspondence files, memoranda, and photographs accumulated by Ambassador
Parsons during his long career in the Foreign Service. Of note are files from
his tenure as ambassador to Laos (1956-1958), his appointment as ambassador to
Sweden (1961-1967), and his work as deputy American representative at the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (1970-1972). Before joining the Foreign Service
he served for four years (1932-1936) as private secretary to Joseph C. Grew,
then American ambassador to Japan. Among his correspondents are Grew, Dean
Acheson, James C. H. Bonbright, John Glenn, Myron C. Taylor, and a number of
American presidents.
Gift of Margaret M. Brown and Jane I. Lyons
1932-1991 * 19.00 linear feet
George C. McGhee Papers
Papers of the former U.S. ambassador to Turkey
(1951-1953) and West Germany (1963-1968) include files relating to both
ambassadorships, as well as materials documenting McGhee's role in a number of
important official and informal posts, among which are the Combined Raw
Materials Board (during World War II), the Bilderberg Group, the Draper
Committee, the Business Council for International Development, and the
Committee for Economic Development. Ambassador McGhee's substantial library of
books on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire is described separately under
European History.
Gift of Ambassador McGhee
1942-1976 * 101.50 linear feet
Ambassador Martin's papers document his career
from his entry in the Foreign Service in 1941 to his ambassadorship to Burma
(1971-1973). Of particular interest is a typewritten diary giving details of
his adventures in China from 1947 to 1949, when he travelled over large
portions of the country trying to assist American citizens during the Communist
Chinese takeover.
Gift of Emma-Rose Martin
1931-1991 * 6.50 linear feet
Samuel D. Berger Papers
The papers document Berger's extensive foreign
service career, from his appointment as part of the Lend-Lease Mission to
Great Britain in 1942 to service in New Zealand, as Ambassador to South Korea
(1961-1964), and Deputy Ambassador to South Vietnam (1968-1972). Also included
are a number of Berger's writings on aspects of American labor unions.
Gift of Elizabeth L. Berger
1937-1979 * 2.00 linear feet
Of principal interest are materials received and
collected during Velletri's term (1955-1960) as political officer at the
American embassy in Rome. These are supplemented by a number of letters from
Archbishop Igino Cardinale, chief of protocol to the secretary of state of the
Vatican.
Gift of Mr. Velletri
1943-1967 * 3.00 linear feet
Joseph John Jova Papers
The papers of Ambassador Jova document various
aspects of relations between the United States and Central American nations.
Included are materials documenting his service as Deputy Chief of Mission in
Chile (1961-1965) and ambassadorships to Honduras (1965-1969), the Organization
of American States (1969-1974), and Mexico (1974-1977).
Gift of Ambassador Jova
1945-1988 * 19.50 linear feet
David M. Abshire Papers
The Abshire Papers contain significant materials
relating primarily to his service with the State Department in the 1970s, with
the Murphy Commission (Commission for Organization of Government for Conduct of
Foreign Policy), and to the history and operations of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies, 1974-1983, then connected with Georgetown
University. (Restricted.)
Gift of Ambassador Abshire
1962-1983 * 27.00 linear feet
Lev Dobriansky Papers
A collection of correspondence and related
materials, in large measure dealing with Dobriansky's activities in Republican
politics, in support of Ukrainian interests, and most especially as American
ambassador to The Bahamas (1982-1986). Correspondents to Dobriansky include
presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, numerous congressional and
diplomatic figures, and Sir Lynden Pindling, former prime minister of the
Bahamas.
Gift of Ambassador Dobriansky
1953-1986 * 5.50 linear feet
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Papers
The Kirkpatrick Papers include a wide range of
material from mail logs and official correspondence to awards, citations, and
plaques reflecting Dr. Kirkpatrick's service as ambassador to the United
Nations. (Restricted.)
Deposited by Ambassador Kirkpatrick
ca. 1984-1985 * ca. 30.00 linear feet
The bulk of the papers deal with Wilson's tenure
as special representative (1981-1984) and ambassador (1984-1986) to the
Vatican, the first American ambassador there since Reconstruction. Among the
correspondents should be noted the Earl de la Warr, Archbishop Pio Laghi,
Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, and Ronald Reagan, who
appointed Wilson to the post.
Gift of Ambassador Wilson
1980-1992 * 6.50 linear feet
The Winifred S. Weislogel Papers consist of letters sent by Winifred S. Weislogel to her parents, Catherine and George Weislogel, during her career in the U. S. foreign service. Weislogel served from August 1957 until November 1983. Weislogel's letters provide a glimpse into the life of a career foreign service official. She writes about her various posts, professional contacts, personal acquaintances, social engagements, and the political conditions and social customs of the nations in which she served. During her tenure, Weislogel spent time in Geneva, Switzerland; Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya; Tangier and Rabat, Morocco; and Lome, Togo. Her lengthy letters to her parents from each of these cities represent a valuable source of information and an intriguing slice of diplomatic history.
1957-1978 * 0.50 linear feet
University Publications of America Collection
As a major publisher of government records in
microform, University Publications has made available to scholars a wide
variety of records of American diplomats, including State Department central
files on Formosa, Saudi Arabia, and Iran; confidential United States diplomatic
post records on the Middle East and Cuba; and the diplomatic papers of John
Moore Cabot. Through the generosity of the founder and former president of
University Publications, Georgetown received more than 5,000 rolls of microfilm
and microfiche sheets, the content of many of them of great significance for
the student of American diplomacy.
Gift of John A. Moscato
Other Diplomatic Holdings
Of particular interest are three groups of diplomatic records which form parts of collections described under American History:
correspondence between Alexander Dimitry, resident minister in Nicaragua, and his wife, 1859-1860 in the Richard X. Evans Collection; and
correspondence and other materials relating to McCeney Werlich's diplomatic postings in Latvia, Poland, Costa Rica, Liberia, and France, 1926-1936, in the Hinckley-Werlich Family Papers.
papers of George Van Ruis Horton, author and American Consul-general in Greece, Turkey, and Hungary, 1905-1923 (deposited by Nancy Horton, restricted);
letter copybook of Stephen S. Remak, American consul in Trieste, 1859-1861;
the archives of George S. Roper, Sr., diplomat and authority on civil aviation, assigned to, among other places, Canada, Spain, and the Philippines, gift of Ann Roper Davidson;
diaries and journals of Hugh McCormick Smith, advisor in fisheries and later director of the Department of Fisheries in Siam, 1923-1934, gift of Janet Claudy;
a series of detailed letters (1942-1945) written from Saudi Arabia by Clarence McIntosh, vice-consul in Dhahran, together with numerous photographs, gift of Mr. McIntosh;
correspondence and research files of Ambassador James D. Theberge, relating largely to Central America and Russia, 1958-1985, gift of Mrs. James D. Theberge; and
papers of Cyrus E. Woods, American minister to Portugal, 1912-1913, gift of Frederick B. Scheetz.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
James Brown Scott Papers
Extensive correspondence, manuscripts, and other
personal papers documenting Scott's various activities as solicitor and special
advisor to the State Department; his roles at the Second Hague Conference, the
Paris Peace Conference, and other international conferences; his work as
secretary of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and his continuing
research interests as a historian and lecturer in the field of international
law and as a proponent of women's rights.
Gift of Eleanor H. Finch and Alice Morrissey
McDiarmid
1906-1946 * 38.50 linear feet
Edwin Emerson Papers
Lengthy and largely unpublished memoirs of the
freelance writer and journalist who "covered" the Spanish-American War, the
Russo-Japanese War, and World War I--the latter, in part, from the German side
of the front lines, supplemented by an extensive series of letters from Emerson
to Ames W. Williams.
Gift of Edith S. and John S. Mayfield
1898-1952 * 4.50 linear feet
Dino Grandi Papers
Microfilm of the first two series of the papers
of the former Italian minister of foreign affairs, minister of justice, and
ambassador to Great Britain. The first series includes all of Grandi's
papers concerning the United States; the second series contains very copious
selections from Grandi's "diario" for 1929-1932, the period of his first tenure
as minister of foreign affairs. Through an arrangement with the holder of the
copyright, Georgetown holds the negatives of the Grandi films. Positive copies
of these films may be ordered from the Georgetown University Library.
1925-1937 * 22 reels
Heinrich Kronstein Papers
The papers are a rich source for any study of
German-American relations in the twentieth century and especially in questions
concerning political economy. They document the American years of the
German-born lawyer and professor who worked for the Justice Department during
World War II as an expert on German cartel law. Later he was involved in
postwar planning, and there is much about West German economic reconstruction
in his correspondence with cartel experts Franz Bohm and Paul Josten. Other
correspondents include former German chancellor Ludwig Erhard, banker Herman
Abs, and diplomat George Ball.
Gift of Mrs. Kronstein and Werner Kronstein
ca. 1936-72 * 46.50 linear feet
Although the papers document Mooney's
contributions to the development of corporate management thinking and
organization through his presidencies of General Motors Export Company and
Willys-Overland, the most important segment concerns his informal diplomatic
contacts in 1939-1940 with Adolf Hitler and the German government on behalf of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mooney's unpublished Letters in Peace
and War describe these contacts. Besides manuscripts, speeches,
articles, and decorations, there is a long series of letters from Mooney to his
wife, Ida MacDonald Mooney, dated from 1928 to 1945.
Gift of Michael M. Mooney and of the estate of Ida M.
Mooney
1924-1955 * 12.00 linear feet
Laurence D. Egbert Papers
The papers relate principally to Colonel
Egbert's service as a military liaison officer in Rouen (1943-1944) and as a
member of the executive staff of the American chief counsel at the
Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. The latter records include personal histories,
data, and various signed statements by many of the principal defendants at the
trials, including Hermann Goering, Hjalmar Schacht, and Joachim von
Ribbentrop.
Gift of Evelyn Egbert
1943-1946 * 8.50 linear feet
United Nations Charter Collection
Two sets of the original printing of the
Charter and Interim Arrangements, one being one of
only twenty-eight sets bound in cloth (of 351 printed on "treaty paper"). With
these are a number of related documents and pamphlets and three folders of
notes on printing and binding runs for the Charter kept by
Dr. Edna R. Fluegel, a special assistant to the advisers to the executive
secretary at the San Francisco conference, 1945.
Gift of Mary A. Semel
Ernest A. Keller Papers
Correspondence, related files, and statistical
summaries documenting Keller's work as acting director of the Far East Regional
Publishing Center (1952-1954), where he oversaw publication of USIA materials,
and as head of the Far Eastern and Latin American branches in the International
Press Division of USIA, where he was in charge of publishing propaganda in the
form of comic books. A file of these comics is included in the collection.
Among Keller's correspondents are John Erskine, Chesley Bonestell, and Marion
Davies.
Gift of Mrs. Ernest A. Keller
ca. 1944-1962 * 2.00 linear feet
Anderson's papers include correspondence
covering his period of public service (spent in part as assistant secretary
of commerce for economic affairs, 1953- 1955), official documents, and a few of
his early articles. The greater part of the collection, however, consists of
reports on various aspects of the European Common Market and the concept of a
free trade zone (1959).
Gift of Mrs. Samuel W. Anderson
1922-1959 * 0.75 linear foot
Archives of the American Committee on United Europe
Correspondence, internal documents,
publications, and other materials relating to the formation and mission of the
committee, established in 1949 to promote public discussion and understanding
of the issues and opportunities of European national integration. Disbanded in
1960, the organization's chairman was William J. Donovan, and the archives
include much material about him.
Gift of J. Allan Hovey, Jr.
1948-1960 * 3.00 linear feet
The papers document Green's long tenures with
the United States Information Agency, especially in the Congo in the early
1960s, and, later, with the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as his
involvement with a host of other organizations both professional and personal.
Among the major correspondents may be listed John H. Chafee, Anthony Drexel
Duke, Julian Green, Francis L. Kellogg, Richard Nixon, Claiborne Pell, and
William Ruckelshaus.
Gift of Mr. Green
1902-1990 * 9.50 linear feet
Chauncey Brewster Chapman Papers
Correspondence and reading files relating to
Chapman's service in the Department of the Interior, and especially as
assistant solicitor for territories overseas (1969-1980), with considerable
material about American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Gift of Mrs. Chauncey Brewster Chapman
1959-1980 * 10.50 linear feet
Daniel James Papers
The collection comprises the extensive research
files of historian Daniel James on Che Guevara, the Mexican Communist Party
(PCM), and in general on Latin American and Caribbean poliitical affairs during
the period 1960-1985.
Gift and bequest of Mr. James
ca. 1960-1985 * ca. 30 linear feet
Archives of the Carlucci Commission on
Security and Economic Assistance
Papers of the commission, created in February,
1983, by Secretary of State George P. Shultz, including membership
correspondence files, opinion papers generated or solicited by the commission,
minutes of commission meetings and public hearings, and drafts of its final
report (November, 1983). In large part, photocopies.
Gift of the Commission
1983-1984 * 10.50 linear feet
Archives of the Society for Historians of Foreign Relations
Founding documents, correspondence, reports, and
publications of the society relating to its meetings, membership, and
activities. Georgetown acts as the ongoing official archival agency for the
society's non-current records.
Deposited by the Society
1967-1974 * 3.75 linear feet
Other International Affairs Holdings
Relevant isolated documents or small groups of documents form part of a number of collections, but the following stand out:
a long series of letters from Frederic A. Delano to his wife (1918-1919) concerning his service in France after World War I and contacts with American and other participants at the Paris Peace Conference, gift of Eric F. Menke;
personal and family papers of Czarist Russian diplomat Basil N. Strandtman, gift of the estate of Alice Dodge, through the auspices of Henry Hull;
papers of John Hall Brett concerning his years spent in Siam (1932-1938) as manager of the Siam Commercial Bank, gift of Frederick D. Greenley;
papers of Phyllis Michaux concerning Americans living overseas and citizenship rights, gift of Mrs. Michaux;
the collection of pamphlets and ephemeral documents formed by the late Ruth Colby-Gage, including much on Palestine, Vietnam, and such causes as disarmament, feminism, and civil rights, gift of Marion Parks; and
the Franco-American Alliance Collection, gift of Robert W. Hartley.
THE MIDDLE EAST
Description de l'Egypte
Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in 1798
led directly to the first modern archaeological survey of that or any other
country's antiquities. The mammoth Description de l'Egypte (30
volumes, 1809-1828) offers in text and plates the first European appreciations
of both ancient and modern Egypt as well as its natural history. The Georgetown
set was presented on publication to Bernard Drovetti, an aide-de-camp to Murat
during the expedition and later Consul General in Egypt.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Grima Johnson
The Mulligan Papers document in great detail his
work in Saudi Arabia for Aramco during the period from 1946 to 1978. He held a
variety of positions with the company in its Government Relations and Arabian
Affairs departments, and during his early years he worked extensively with the
Arabist George Rentz, some of whose typescripts are present in the collection,
as are some by H. St. John B. Philby. Other correspondents include Thomas C.
Barger, Dame Violet Dickson, David S. Dodge, and Parker T. Hart.
Includes numerous photographs.
Gift of Shirley Mulligan
1930-1993 * 29.00 linear feet
A senior Aramco executive, Mahon was involved
for many years with planning and management, engineering, and construction. The
collection includes critical reports, minutes, planning guides, assessments,
long-range studies, and organizational charts, together with an oral history
interview concerning his career.
Gift of Mr. Mahon through the auspices of the Aramco History
Project.
1957-1995 * 0.75 linear foot
John A. DeNovo Papers
Author of American Interests and Policies
in the Middle East, 1900-1939, DeNovo assembled an archive consisting
primarily of research materials for a proposed second volume to cover the years
1939-1950. There are extensive research notes and correspondence about the role
of Harold Ickes in the development of oil policy and Arabia as well as on the
Middle East origins of the Cold War.
Gift of Mr. DeNovo
ca. 1940-1975 * 16.50 linear feet
Other Middle East Holdings
Four smaller collections offer insight into various aspects of the American presence in the Middle East:
papers of Marver Bernstein relating to the Middle East, gift of the estate of Mr. Bernstein;
papers of Allen Lesser, in large part relating to Israel, gift of Mr. Lesser; and
papers of Alvin J. Cottrell, relating principally to Iran and the Middle East in the 1970s, gift of Emma Cottrell.
PANAMA AND THE CANAL
Endicott Panama Collection
The basis of this collection is the several
score of rare volumes about Panama, the Isthmus, and the Canal from the library
of naval engineer Rear Admiral Mordecai Endicott, a member of the Nicaragua
Canal Commission (1895) and the Panama Canal Commission (1905-1907), including
a copy of Lionel Wafer's A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of
America (1699). To Endicott's core collection the library adds other
volumes of Panama or interoceanic canal interest as they are acquired in the
course of developing a comprehensive collection of early printed materials
relating to the development of a viable Isthmian canal.
Gift of Frederick B. Scheetz and Nicholas B. Scheetz
Stephens-Chauncey Collection
The collection consists of 15 remarkable
autograph letters from John L. Stephens, Isthmian explorer and entrepreneur, to
Henry Chauncey, his friend and partner in the Panama Railroad Company; one
letter from Stephens to W. H. Aspinwall, also connected with the railroad; and
one letter from General Pedro Alcantara Herrán, minister from New
Granada in Washington, to Stephens.
Gift of Henry Chauncey
1848-1851 * 0.25 linear foot
Tomás Herrán Papers
Correspondence, letter books, and other items
relating to Herrán's diplomatic efforts on behalf of Colombia
culminating in the abortive Hay-Herrán Treaty of 1903, which would have
provided for American construction of an interoceanic canal through Panama,
then part of Colombia.
Gift of Laura E. de Herrán
1901-1904 * 2.50 linear feet
Drake, originally a New York banker, was between
1888 and 1907 intimately involved with the operation of the Panama Railway
Company. The collection comprises primarily correspondence to Drake from
officials of the railroad as well as from Panamanian ministers and
politicians.
1852-1981 * 0.75 linear foot
Earl Harding Papers
The papers encompass in large measure the bulk
of background and investigative files developed by Harding while on assignment
in Panama. They concern especially the revolution in Panama in 1903; American
involvement in the Canal Zone; and the libel suit brought by Theodore Roosevelt
against Joseph Pulitzer and the editors of The World (New
York).
Gift of Mr. Harding
1903-1910 * 6.00 linear feet
T. B. Miskimon Collection
The Miskimon Collection consists of copies of
letters and reports submitted by Miskimon, an inspector with the chairman's
office, Panama Canal Zone, to Col. George W. Goethals, chairman and chief
engineer of the Panama Canal construction project. The Miskimon correspondence
includes enlightening, as well as sometimes entertaining, information
concerning the daily life of both American and foreign Canal Commission
employees, covering such subjects as professional baseball player-employees,
domestic disputes, illicit business enterprises, and recalcitrant canal
workers.
1907-1910 * 0.50 linear foot
Dr. Ricardo Joaquin Alfaro (1882-1971),
celebrated lawyer, diplomat, and statesman, served as Panama's ambassador to
the United States (1922-1930, 1933-1936) and as president of Panama
(1931-1932). The archive includes manuscripts, photographs, and articles by and
about his life and writings as well as a long series of letters written to his
daughter Yolanda.
Gift of Mrs. H. Cabell Maddux, Jr. and, in part, Mrs. Frank
H. Weller
1889-1992 * 4.00 linear feet
The French Collection consists of 13 scrapbooks
and an album of photographs assembled by Archie Wright French, who worked on
the construction of the canal in a clerical capacity from 1905 onwards, and who
apparently stayed in the Canal Zone until 1945. Particular interests included
the San Blas and other native Panamanian tribes and the history of the Panama
Canal project.
Gift of the Chicago Public Library
1904-1945 * 2.00 linear feet
John F. Stevens Papers
John F. Stevens, explorer, railroad executive,
and civil engineer, was among those most responsible for building the Panama
Canal. His successor, George W. Goethals, called the Canal "his greatest
monument." The collection includes maps, correspondence, drawings, photographs,
diaries, and an unpublished biography. It is especially rich in regard to
Stevens' work on American railways, Russian and Chinese railways (1917-1923),
and the Mississippi River Flood Control Project.
Gift of Donald H. Stevens and Virginia Hawks
1850-1980 * 16.00 linear feet
Panama Canal Subcommittee Papers
Official records of the Panama Canal
Subcommittee, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, U. S. House of
Representatives. The papers include a great deal of material relating to the
Panama Canal Treaty that transferred authority over the Canal from the United
States to Panama.
Gift of the Subcommittee
1963-1980 * 66.00 linear feet
Miles P. DuVal, Jr., Papers
The papers, including voluminous correspondence
with political and military figures, document Captain DuVal's long involvement
with the history, operations, and future of the Panama Canal, from his
authorship of Cadiz to Cathay (1940) and And the Mountains
Will Move (1947) through his distinguished service in the United States
Navy at the Canal to his later research and lobbying activities regarding
ongoing American Canal policy.
Gift of Captain DuVal
1938-1980 * 60.00 linear feet
Other Panama Collections
The library holds a number of smaller collections that relate more or less directly to various aspects of the Canal's history and operation, as below:
papers of American diplomat Richard P. Butrick relating to the Canal, gift of Ambassador Butrick;
papers (chiefly secondary sources and photocopies) of Rep. Daniel J. Flood, 1976-1979, gift of Representative Flood;
papers of UPI correspondent Harry W. Frantz relating to Panamanian affairs, 1947-1964, gift of Mr. Frantz;
papers of William R. McCann concerning Canal policy, 1950-1962, gift of Mr. McCann;
papers of Sen. Thomas E. Martin relating to the Canal, 1944-1960, gift of Senator Martin;
a collection of some 100 8x10 black and white photographs of Panama Canal construction scenes, 1907-1916, gift of Rev. Eugene Hackert;
papers of Lester Adams, a medical officer serving in the Canal Zone:
papers (photocopies) of Rep. Leonor K. Sullivan, chairwoman of the Panama Canal Subcommittee, 1955-1971, gift of Representative Sullivan; and
papers of Rep. Clark W. Thompson, especially in relation to Canal tolls, 1947-1960, gift of Representative Thompson.
Russell J. Bowen Collection
Among the modern treasures of the library is the
remarkable collection of books on the subjects of intelligence, spying, covert
activities, and related fields assembled by Col. Russell J. Bowen. The
collection numbers more than 14,000 titles, including works on cryptography,
signals intelligence, tradecraft of all kinds, and the application of modern
technology to intelligence gathering. Approximately 5,300 titles are listed in
the now out of date printed bibliography of the collection as it then existed,
Scholars' Guide to Intelligence Literature (1983), with subject
and title indices. Approximately 11,000 titles are more fully indexed in
The Electronic Database of the Russell J. Bowen Collection
published in 1991 by the National Intelligence Book Center and recently
updated.
Gift of Colonel Bowen
The Bowen Spy Fiction Collection
The Bowen Collection is supplemented by a
separately-maintained collection of more than 3,500 titles in the spy fiction
genre. Largely English language in content, it includes such rarities as
The Algerine Spy (Philadelphia, 1787). Its main value, however,
lies in documenting the post-James Bond Anglo-American taste for espionage
thrillers, although it includes a large number of earlier works and extends as
well to encompass parodies and exploitational take-offs.
Gift of Colonel Bowen
Anthony Cave Brown Papers
The papers include correspondence, photographs,
manuscripts, drafts of books, and extensive research files used by Brown in
writing Bodyguard of Lies (1975), The Last Hero: Wild Bill
Donovan (1982), and Treason in the Blood (1994). It
contains important material by or about a number of figures noted in spylore:
Kim Philby, H. St. John B. Philby, and William J. Donovan stand out.
(Restricted.)
Gift of Mr. Brown
ca. 1940-1995 * 84.75 linear feet
The papers consist of letters written by Quigley
while working for the OSS in Great Britain, Ireland, and Italy during World
WarII, as well as copies of OSS files retrieved under the Freedom of
Information Act and supporting files leading to the publication of Quigley's
Peace Without Hiroshima (1990).
Gift of Mr. Quigley
1937-1991 * 6.00 linear feet
The papers include a broad cross-section of
printed leaflets used in propaganda warfare in the front lines during World War
II and the Vietnam War, together with a series of unpublished reports on
aspects of psychological warfare and intelligence deriving from Herz's military
career in these fields.
Gift of Elizabeth K. Herz
ca. 1942-1976 * 9.00 linear feet
Otto E. Guthe Papers
The Guthe Papers consist primarily of
correspondence and articles relating in one way or another to the field of
geography. Guthe served with the State Department and the Central Intelligence
Agency, where he began as Chief of Geographic Research. Among items of special
interest are letters and papers relating to the use of remote sensing and
satellite photography in modern geographic research.
Gift of Katherine S. Guthe
1906-1983 * 3.00 linear feet
Leonard S. Wilson Collection
The Wilson Collection provides an in-depth look
at the state of American geographic intelligence during and just after World
War II, especially as revealed by a long series of joint army-navy intelligence
studies. The collection also documents Wilson's cartographic work with the OSS
in London in 1944 and contains a smaller number of related items dating up to
1960.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James May
ca. 1944-1960 * 12.00 linear feet
Other Intelligence Collections
Five smaller groups of books and manuscripts offer material of potential interest:
a small group of books from the library of Kim Philby (some previously in the library of Guy Burgess), gift of Rufina Philby;
the Howard Oakley collection of works on cryptography, approximately 100 items including a complete original set of the famous Riverbank publications, gift of Marjorie D. Oakley;
two seventeenth-century legal works presented to attorney James Donovan by a former client, Russian agent Rudolf Abel, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Amorosi and family; and
more than 100 works on intelligence and related activities in the southwest Pacific in World War II, gift of Mayo and Connie Stuntz.