Princeton University History

  • William E. Potter Diary

    The diary, a single volume comprised of approximately 100 handwritten pages, is
    inscribed “Diary of Wm E. Potter/Monday Sept. 5, 1859.” The first page of the diary
    contains what appears to be grades most likely from his final year at Harvard. The
    last page contains subjects for prize debates. The diary itself begins with Sept. 5,
    1859 and concludes on June 28, 1862. There are entries for every day between
    September 1859 and mid-July 1861. Thereafter are occasional periods when weeks and
    entire months are combined into a single entry.The diary consists of Potter's days at Harvard (Sept. 5, 1859 to Jan. 8, 1861), a law
    practice commencing on Feb 4, 1861, his entry into Princeton (Aug. 14, 1861) and his
    final entry, “Enlisted,” on June 28th, 1862.Many of the entries indicate Potter's simple day-to-day activities. There are lengthy
    descriptions and comments on Potter's professors including Russell Lowell at Harvard
    and Lyman Atwater at Princeton.Potter also provides thoughtful comments on the public figures and events of this
    period. Of interest is how abolitionist, secession, and war events begin to take up a
    greater portion of Potter's entries, especially after the election of Lincoln in
    November 1860. In addition to the entries describing Lincoln's election and
    inauguration, there are descriptions of the Women's Rights Convention in Boston in
    1860, speeches by Edward Everett, secessionist William Lowndes Yancey of Alabama,
    abolitionists Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison, Lincoln's appearance and
    speeches in Trenton and Philadelphia, the surrender of Fort Sumter, the Battle of
    Bull Run, the “pumping” (dunking) of Princeton students favoring secession, and the
    fall of Fort Donelson. However, after Potter's religious awakening on February 28,
    1862, little note is made of war events. The momentous battles of Shiloh,
    Williamsburg and Seven Pines are not even mentioned.

  • W. Beaumont Whitney Collection on A Princeton Companion

    Consists mainly of Whitney's correspondence with potential donors, contributors, and with author Alexander Leitch. Also included are edited manuscripts of select articles for the book, news clippings about the project, and some promotional materials.

  • Washington's Birthday Celebration Records

    Consists of collected programs, odes, schedules, and clippings pertaining to the University's commemoration of Washington's birthday throughout its history.

  • War Service Bureau Records

    Consists of the records of the Bureau. Included in the documentation are biographical, military, and school-related information; correspondence between students and University staff, faculty, and students; and subject files from the Bureau’s office. While there are only information cards for Class of 1943 members, there are individual folders for most men in the Classes of 1944 through 1949. There are also questionnaires (see restrictions) containing academic and personal information, and issues of TIGER TALES, the Bureau’s monthly newsletter.

  • Visiting Fellow and Incidental Student Records

    These records consist of files of incidental students who earned less than a full
    semester's worth of credits, as well as the records of visiting fellows.

  • Veterans of Future Wars Collection

    Consists of records of the Veterans of Future Wars, founded by Princeton University undergraduates Lewis Gorin (Class of 1936), Jack Turner (Class of 1936), Thomas Riggs (Class of 1937), and Robert Barnes (Class of 1937). The collections consists primarily of correspondence of the National Council members (the founding Princeton students), the organization's nation-wide posts, and its various auxiliary support groups. Also included are speeches and debates, press releases, poems, plays, and songs written for the organization, photographs of both official and personal nature, and newspaper clippings.

  • Varnum Lansing Collins Papers

    The Varnum Lansing Collins Papers consist primarily of materials generated by
    Collins while writing several of his most well-known works on Princeton history.
    The papers include manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and research materials
    consisting of both original documents and facsimiles. Also included in the
    papers are materials pertaining to Collins' personal life, such as undergraduate
    scrapbooks and correspondence with friends and well-wishers.Please see series descriptions in contents list for additional information about
    individual series.

  • U.S.S. Princeton [C.V.L.-23] Collection

    Consists of research materials for the book Carrier Down: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Princeton (1990), co-authored by Thomas I. Bradshaw and Marsha L. Clark. Included are typed transcriptions of tape-recorded interviews, newspaper clippings, and recollections written by individual men who served on the carrier when it was bombed by the Japanese on October 24, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf; subject files of materials used in the writing of the book, such as photocopies of the Navy War Damage Reports, lists of survivors, and information on types of Japanese aircraft; and photographs that appeared in the book.

  • University Research Board Records

    Consists of University Research Board meeting minutes, annual reports, correspondence between members, and some subject files, as well as the memos and correspondence of Raymond J. Woodrow, executive officer and secretary of the Committee on Project Research and Invention. Much of Woodrow's material pertains to University sponsored research in support of WWII efforts.

  • University Players Collection

    Consists mainly of playbills, photographs, and clippings of press announcements and
    reviews of the University Players.

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