Fidel Castro visits Princeton University

Daily Princetonian photo of Castro on Washington Street.

In 1959, not even three months after he came to power, Fidel Castro was invited to speak to a small group of undergraduate students and faculty members of the Woodrow Wilson School. In a recent donation to the University Archives, we received some key items related to Castro’s visit, including this letter of invitation.

Letter sent to Castro. March 5, 1959

This telegram response to the initial letter is also part of the donation, which was added to the American Whig-Cliosophic Society Records.

Ultimately, Castro did accept the invitation and spoke for the Woodrow Wilson School’s Special Program in American Civilization. Admission to the program was by invitation only, and it was held in Wilson Hall, now known as Corwin Hall.

These materials were donated by Ambassador Paul D. Taylor ’60 and include a carbon copy of three pages of notes of excerpts from Castro’s speech taken by Taylor.

The rest of Castro’s visit included a tour of campus with President Goheen ’40 as well as being the guest of honor at the Present Day Club in town.

During his visit, Castro stayed in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Roland T. Ely ’46. Below is a piece of biographical information that is included in the Historical Subject Files: Box 309, Folder 20.

If you would like to learn more about Castro’s visit, please search the digitized archives of The Daily Princetonian.

The following links are just two of the articles related to Castro’s visit.

Castro Violates Security Regulations

The Story Behind Castro’s Visit

There is also this piece in the Princeton Alumni Weekly online edition.

New Accessions: January through March 2010, Part II

In January, the University Archives acquired a lecture notebook penned by Elijah Rosengrant (1776-1832). The notebook was written in the spring of 1791 for John Witherspoon’s course "Lectures on Moral Philosophy." The significance of the notebook derives not only from its documentation of President Witherspoon as a faculty lecturer and of the pedagogical technique of the college in the 18th century, but also from the fact that Elijah Rosengrant was not enrolled as a student in the College of New Jersey (as Princeton was then known). In fact, Rosengrant was a student of Queen’s College (now Rutgers University), Class of 1791, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Rosengrantsm

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New Accessions: January through March 2010, Part I

The Mudd Manuscript Library received 8 public policy accessions and 31 University Archives accessions between January and March 2010.

In January, the Library purchased a rare pamphlet written in Yiddish supporting Woodrow Wilson’s bid for reelection 1917. The pamphlet is one of only a handful of Yiddish-language Wilsoniana known to exist (accession number ML.2010.003).

Wilson%20Pamphlet

In addition, in March the Library purchased a personal notebook by James Forrestal containing records of meetings and conversations as well as Forrestal’s thoughts on current events for the year 1949. The notebook, which is typed but contains a number of handwritten items, seamlessly complements Mudd’s prior holdings of Forrestal’s diaries. It is especially noteworthy because Forrestal was in the habit of typing even his personal notes, making this one of the scarce examples of Forrestal’s handwriting (accession number ML.2010.008).

Forrestal%20Notebook

Coming soon in New Accessions, Part II will be an accessions highlight from the University Archives– the Elijah Rosengrant Lecture Notebook, 1791.

The following is a complete list of materials that were accessioned between January through March 2010. As always, if you would like additional information about these materials, please contact us through our general email account mudd@princeton.edu.

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New Accessions: October – December 2009

The Mudd Manuscript Library received seven public policy accessions and 31 University Archives accessions between October and December 2009.

One of the highlights is an architectural rendering of Commencement Hall (now called Alexander Hall) that was published in American Architect and Building News on December 12, 1891. The rendering was created prior to the building’s construction, which began in 1892, in accordance with architect William A. Potter’s design.

First occupied in 1894, Alexander Hall was built to accommodate commencement exercises and other large gatherings. Today, the Romanesque-style structure is one of Princeton’s most recognizable buildings and it is home to the Richardson Auditorium concert hall.

Commencement_hall_3

Commencement Hall, architectural rendering, 1891, AR.2009.111.

The following is a complete list of materials that were accessioned between October and December of 2009. As always, if you would like additional information about these materials, please contact us through our general email account mudd@princeton.edu.

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New Accessions: July through September 2009

Online%20resouce

The accessions from this period include the results of a 30th Reunion Survey of the Class of ’76 [AR.2009.060]. This accession is one of a growing number of materials that come to the University Archives solely in digital format. Some digital accessions are born-digital (items that originated in digital format) and some are digitized by donors before arriving at the archives. They come to the archives in variety of ways: on a storage media such as CDs, DVDs, or external hard drives, or they are simply emailed to us as a file attachment.

The Mudd Manuscript Library is continually working to find effective ways to deliver digital content to patrons. Many of our digital accessions are made available to the public by linking them directly to our online finding aids. The 30th Reunion Survey Results for the Class of ’76, for example, is linked to the Class Records finding aid in the contents list under “Class of 1976” (see illustration above). Another example of born-digital materials that are accessible through an online finding aid are the Tiger Family Hockey Newsletters. A recent addition to our Public Policy Papers holdings, the World Press Freedom Committee Records, included nearly 1.5 gigabytes of files sent to us on a 4 gigabyte flash drive. Though the records are not fully processed, the electronic files are available via the online finding aid for the collection thanks to an agreement with World Press Freedom Committee.

The following is a complete list of materials that were accessioned July through September this year. As always, anyone interested in additional information about these materials should contact the library through our general email account mudd@princeton.edu.

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New Accessions at the Mudd Library: December 2008 – January 2009

The list below includes information on items and collections accessioned in December 2008 and January 2009. There were 17 Princeton University Archives accessions added to our collections during this period. As always, anyone interested in additional information about the accessions listed below should contact the library through our general email account mudd@princeton.edu.

Princeton University Archives

Among the University Archives accessions for this period was an accrual for the Program in Latin American Studies Records, 1949-2008 [AR.2008.162]. The Program was founded in 1966 as an interdisciplinary course of study to supplement undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The Program in Latin American Studies Records documents the program from its beginnings to the present day.

AC249

Additional Accessions Include:

Peter B. Lewis Library Bookmark, 2008

AR.2008.155

Correspondence of Harry Zebulon O’Brien, Class of 1899, Additions

AR.2008.156

James McCosh Letter, 1878

AR.2008.157

Three Score and Nine, Recollections and Reflections of Cornelius P. Trowbridge, 1898-1967

AR.2008.158

Arthur C. Eschenlauer Correspondence and Memorabilia, 1952-1956

AR.2008.159

Miscellaneous Princeton Publications, 1947-1999

AR.2008.160

Class of 1944 Alumni Indices, 1944-1961

AR.2008.161

Scrapbook of Gilbert N. McMillan, Class of 1890, and Photographs, 1888-1890, 1918

AR.2008.163

Photograph Album of William Alsop Bours, Class of 1904, 1900-1904

AR.2009.001

Scrapbook of Weld Merrick Stevens, Class of 1904, and Stevens Family Journal, 1898-1904

AR.2009.002

Thomas Meeker Papers on Admission to Princeton University, 1949-1956

AR.2009.003

Lewis Library Dedication Materials and Miscellaneous Library Brochures, 2008

AR.2009.004

Life Begins at Eighty, An Autobiography by Richard Esterbrook McConnell, Class of 1946, circa 2005

AR.2009.005

Library Handbooks, 1976-1983

AR.2009.006

Professor John Wheeler Memorial Reception DVD, 2008

AR.2009.007

Lectures on Criticism by John Witherspoon, 1794 (currently undergoing preservation treatment)

AR.2009.008

New Accessions: October and November 2008

The list below includes information on items and collections accessioned in October and November 2008. As always, anyone interested in additional information about the accessions listed below should contact the library through our general email account mudd@princeton.edu.

In November, the University Archives was pleased to receive a donation of materials relating to Princeton’s 1948 one-fifty pound crew team. The team traveled to England to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta and came home as victorious winners of the Thames Challenge Cup. The crew team’s coach, Davis Spencer, Class of 1945, collected the materials which include a scrapbook, photographs and memorabilia. The photograph below depicts the 1948 crew team (Gift of Susan Spencer Cramer, AR.2008.149).

crew430

Additional University Archives accessions in October and November 2008 include:

Office of Development Donor Files, 1958-2003

AR.2008.130

Triangle Club Records, 1923-2007

AR.2008.131

Princeton University Course Offerings 2008-2009

AR.2008.132

Committee to Defend America, Miscellaneous Publications, 1940, undated

AR.2008.133

Memorials to Kenneth Barnhart II, Class of 1945, 2008

AR.2008.134

Photograph of Princeton Athlete, William Bonthron, Class of 1934

AR.2008.135

Graduate Alumni Records, 2000-2008

AR.2008.136

Woodrow Wilson School Policy Conference Proceedings, 2008

AR.2008.137

Independent Concentrators’ Academic Files from the Dean of the College, 1972-2001

AR.2008.138

To the Mountains of the Moon, Library Exhibition Poster, 2007

AR.2008.139

Memorials Research for the Princeton Alumni Weekly, Class of 1951, 1950-2008

AR.2008.140

Digital Images: Princeton President Shapiro with U.S. President Bill Clinton, and Princeton Students at a Bonfire, 1996, 2006

AR.2008.141

Miscellaneous Publications, 1950-2000

AR.2008.142

Correspondence of Harry Zebulon O’Brien, Class of 1899, 1897-1899

AR.2008.143

Gifts to Princeton, 2007-2008

AR.2008.144

Framed Print of Child in Princeton Graduation Garb, circa 1900

AR.2008.145

Class of 1973 Reunions Photographs, 2003-2007

AR.2008.146

Schedule of Classes, Spring Term 2008-2009

AR.2008.147

Alumni Council Committee on Reunions Correspondence Regarding Alcohol Use Policies, 1991-1992

AR.2008.148

Davis Spencer, Class of 1945, Crew Scrapbook and Memorabilia, 1947-1948

AR.2008.149

International Center Records, 1982-2002

AR.2008.150

Alumni Council Materials, 1950-2000

AR.2008.151

Raymond J. Woodrow Materials and Office of Research and Project Administration Document, 1977, undated

AR.2008.152

Department of Rare Books and Special Collections Manuscripts Division General Manuscripts, 1773-1965

AR.2008.153

Auxiliary to the Isabella McCosh Infirmary Records, 1981-2001

AR.2008.154

Public Policy Papers accessions in October and November 2008 include:

Jeffrey E. Fuller Papers, 1930-1970

ML.2008.023

Harlan Cleveland Papers, 1937-2007

ML.2008.024

Leo P. Crespi Papers, 1940-1980s

ML.2008.025

Richard A. Musgrave Papers, 1920s-2007

ML.2008.026

Harlan Cleveland Photographs, 1946-1970

ML.2008.027