Gleason, S. Everett Papers

Historian, Council on Foreign Relations, 1946-1950; Deputy Executive Secretary, National Security Council, 1950-1959; Cultural Attaché, U.S. Embassy, London, England, 1959-1961; Historian, U.S. Department of State, 1962-1972

The papers of S. Everett Gleason consist of correspondence dealing in part with the writing and publishing of two books by Gleason and William Langer; and newspaper clippings and other printed materials, mostly from Gleason’s years as cultural attaché in England. Also in the collection are speeches given by Gleason and records relating to his personal life, military career, and service on the staff of the National Security Council.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 2.2 linear feet (about 2,400 pages).
Access: Open, with the exception of a few documents that are closed for reasons of national security.
Copyright: Abbott Gleason donated to the U.S. government his copyright interest in all unpublished writings in the collection. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1977).
Updated by: Sarah Sylvester (2005) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1905 (March 14)		Born in Brooklyn, New York.
1927-1928		A.B. and A.M. degrees, Harvard University.
1930-1938		Instructor in History, Harvard University.
1934		Ph.D., Harvard University.
1936		First book published, An Ecclesiastical Barony of the Middle Ages. The Bishopric of Bayeux, 1066-1204
1937 (June 19)		Married Mary Eleanor Abbott.
1938-1942		Assistant and Associate Professor of History at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
1942-1946		Special Consultant to the Army Air Forces; Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army; Current Intelligence Chief for the Office of Strategic Services; member of the Joint Intelligence Committee; received Legion of Merit.
1946-1950		Historian for the Council on Foreign Relations.
1950-1959		Deputy Executive Secretary, National Security Council.
1952		Published book, The Challenge to Isolation, 1937-1940, with William Langer.
1953		Published book, The Undeclared War, 1940-1941, also with William Langer.
1959-1961		Cultural attaché of the United States to England.
1962-1970		Historian, U.S. Department of State.
1974 (November 20)		Died, Washington D.C.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of S. Everett Gleason include correspondence, printed materials, speeches, and other items relating to Gleason’s career as a historian, Army Intelligence officer, and civilian government official. The collection contains personal correspondence as well as documentation of Gleason’s service with the National Security Council, the U.S. Embassy in London, and the State Department.

Gleason’s papers are organized into two series. The first of these is the Correspondence File, which includes correspondence between Gleason and William Langer, and with others, concerning their co-authored books, The Challenge to Isolation, 1937-1940 and The Undeclared War, 1940-1941, histories of U.S. foreign policy from the Munich Crisis to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This series also includes a great deal of personal correspondence. One of the last folders in the Correspondence File contains a letter from Vice-President Richard Nixon expressing his best wishes to Gleason in London and his regrets that they had not seen each other before Gleason left.

The Subject File contains club membership information, military records, reviews of Gleason’s books; and mementos from his years as cultural attaché in London, including invitations for dinner from the Queen. In the cultural attaché material there is also a daily appointment book, but it is unclear if this belonged to Gleason, his secretary or someone he worked with. The Subject File also contains speeches given by Gleason, and a grade card from Harvard University as well as certificates of achievement from the University, filed under “General File.”

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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