Griffis, Stanton Papers

U.S. Ambassador to Poland, 1947-1948; U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, 1948-1949; U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, 1949-1950; U.S. Ambassador to Spain 1951-1952

The Papers of Stanton Griffis contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other historical documents from his personal scrapbooks relating to his public career as a United States government official and his private career as a businessman.

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

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 2 linear feet, 7 linear inches (about 4,800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Carol Briley (1974); Amy Crossley (2013).
Updated by: Andrew Luce (2014) 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

1887 (May 2)		Born, Boston, Massachusetts
1910		B.A., Cornell University
1917-1918		Captain, Army General Staff
1930		Appointed Trustee of Cornell University by Franklin D. Roosevelt
1935-1942		Director of Paramount Pictures, Chairman of the Executive Committee (1936)
1942		Chairman of the Special Events Committee of the Navy Relief Drive
1942-1943		Special Envoy for the Government to England, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Portugal
1943-1944		Chief of the Office of War Information Motion Picture Bureau
1944		LL.D., Union College
1944 (April to June)		Special Representative of the Foreign Economic Administration to England and Sweden
1944-1945		Commissioner of the Red Cross for the Pacific Ocean area
1947-1948		Ambassador to Poland
1948-1949		Ambassador to Egypt, Director of United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees
1949-1950		Ambassador to Argentina
1951-1952		Ambassador to Spain
1952		Published autobiography, Lying in State
1974 (August 29)		Died, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York

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

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Stanton Griffis consist of newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other materials related to his business career and his diplomatic service with the United States Government. The collection is comprised of two series, the Scrapbook Newspaper Clippings File and the Scrapbook General File, both arranged chronologically.

The first series includes newspaper clippings from both domestic and foreign papers relating to the life, interests, and career of Stanton Griffis. The clippings encapsulate Mr. Griffis's rise to prominence and highlight both his accomplishments and failures. The large majority of articles pertain directly to Griffis and his career, while a small number of articles deal with topics of significance to Mr. Griffis, such as his social activities and his involvement in the motion picture industry.

The second half of the collection contains correspondence, press clippings, and other memorabilia concerning Griffis that he compiled into his scrapbook. Within the collection, there is a three part "series" in which Ambassador Griffis describes his experiences abroad in post-war Europe during his service. These provide eloquently-detailed descriptions of what he saw in war-ravaged Eastern Europe.

Many of the documents concern Mr. Griffis's service as U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Egypt, Argentina, and Spain. Business cards, radio interview transcripts, correspondence between dignitaries, and letters of scathing criticism from the indigenous populations are some of the many types of documents Mr. Griffis retained in his scrapbook.

Notable letters contained in this collection are from Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman, Jacqueline Kennedy, Eva and Juan Peron, Francisco Franco, Abigail Van Buren, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, George C. Marshall, Dean Acheson, and Alben Barkley.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of James C. Dunn, who was the Ambassador to Italy, France, Spain, and Brazil from 1946 to 1955. Official Files 463 and 422 in the papers of Harry S. Truman include information on Poland and Spain, respectively.

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

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