Archibald Cary Coolidge
(March 6, 1866–January 14, 1928) was an American
educator. He was a Professor of History at Harvard College
from 1908 and the first Director of the Harvard University Library from
1910 until his death. Coolidge was also a scholar in international
affairs, a planner of the Widener Library
, a member of the United States Foreign Service,
and editor-in-chief of the policy journal, Foreign Affairs.
Dates
Born: Boston, Massachusetts on March 6, 1866
Died: Boston on January 14, 1928.
Family
Parents: Joseph Randolph Coolidge and Julia Gardner Coolidge, both
from prominent and wealthy Boston families.
Education
Coolidge
attended seven different elementary and preparatory schools, the
Adams Academy in Quincy, and Harvard College, from which he emerged summa cum laude in history
in 1887. He also attended University of
Berlin
and the École des
Sciences Politiques
in Paris. He earned a Ph.D. from the
University of Freiburg in
Germany 1892
Diplomatic career
- Secretary to the American legation in Saint Petersburg, Russia
(1890-1891)
- Private secretary to the American minister in France
(1892)
- Secretary to the American legation in Vienna (1893)
- Directed the Eastern European division of a State Department
research group known as "The Inquiry" to prepare the United States
for the World War I peace conference
- In 1918, under the direction of the State Department, Coolidge
went to Russia to study its political, social, and economic
condition
- He spent time in Vienna reporting on the situation in Central
and Eastern Europe for post-war planners in 1919
- In 1921, working as a negotiator for the American Relief
Administration, Coolidge helped arrange relief supplies for
famine-stricken peoples in Russia.
Teaching career
Posts held at Harvard:
- Instructor in History at Harvard College
- Assistant Professor in History (1899-1908)
- Professor in History (1908-1928)
- Chairman of the History Department (1907-1910)
Courses taught at Harvard:
- European History from the Roman Empire to the French Revolution
(History I)
- History of Northern and Eastern Europe from 1453 to 1795
(History 15)
- History of the Eastern Question (History 19)
- Expansion of Europe since 1815 (History 30B)
- Selected Topics in the History of the Nineteenth Century
(History 29)
- The Far East in the Nineteenth Century (History 18)
- An advanced course in Russian history.
Committees at Harvard:
- Chairman of the Committee on the Regulation of Athletic Sports
from 1899 to 1905
- Member of the Administrative Board from 1896 to 1905
Library career
Coolidge turned the Harvard College Library into a major research
institution. In 1908 he was appointed to the Harvard Library
Council and was chairman of this council in 1909. In 1910 he became
the first Director of the Harvard University Library.
Coolidge's tenure saw
the building of the Widener Library.
Publications
- The United States as a World Power (1908)
- The Origins of the Triple Alliance (1917)
- Ten Years of War and Peace (1927)
- Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Affairs, a journal of the
Council on Foreign Relations
References
- Archibald Cary Coolidge. Harvard Class Reports, Class of 1887,
102-106.
- Bentinck-Smith, William. Building a Great Library: The Coolidge
Years at Harvard. Cambridge, Massachusetts: President and Fellows
of Harvard College, 1976.
- Bentinck-Smith, William, and Elizabeth Stouffer. Harvard
University, History of Named Chairs. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1991.
- Currier, Thomas Franklin. "A Sheaf of Memories, From the
Cataloguers." Harvard Library Notes (April 1928) : 165-170.
- Currier, Thomas Franklin. "Archibald Cary Coolidge." Library
Journal (February 1, 1928).
- Emily B. Hill. "Coolidge, Archibald Cary";
http://80-www.anb.org.ezpl.harvard.edu/ articles/14/14/-00118.html;
American National Biography Online February 2000. Access Date:
Monday February 23 13:26:54 EST 2004.
- Ferguson, W.S., C.H. Haskins, E.F. Gay, R.B. Merriman. "
Memorial Minute: Archibald Cary Coolidge." Harvard University
Gazette (September 29, 1928) : 8-10.
- Merriaman, R.B. "Archibald Cary Coolidge." The Harvard
Graduates' Magazine (June, 1928) : 550-557.
- Winship, George Parker. "Archibald Cary Coolidge." Harvard
Library Notes (April 1928) : 157-164.
- Staff report (January 15, 1928). PROF. COOLIDGE OF HARVARD
DEAD; Held History Chair for Twenty Years--Headed U.S. Mission to
Vienna After War. ONCE EXCHANGE PROFESSOR Taught in Berlin Before
World Confilict--Authority on Politics and Economies. New York Times
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