Charles W. Cole (AC 1927) Papers
Scope and Contents
Letters, reports, minutes, speeches, photographs, printed matter and other materials documenting Charles W. Cole's personal life and professional career as President of Amherst College (1946-1960) and as a member of a variety of committees and boards in the private and public sector. The collection also includes correspondence and other personal papers of Cole's first wife, Katharine. Charles Cole's personal papers include a large volume of correspondence with his parents and with Charles H. Morgan; also undergraduate material, family photographs and awards. Amherst College material is limited to speeches made as President and materials documenting his visit to Doshisha University, Japan, in 1953, including a photograph album. Cole's writings include mainly manuscripts for his 1935 book Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism. The rest of the collection consists of files relating to Cole's service on a variety of boards and committees, including the Fund for the Republic, Committee on the National Security Organization, American Cancer Society, U.S. Air Force, Merrill Foundation for the Advancement of Financial Knowledge, Educational Testing Service, and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.
Dates
- 1906-1979
- Majority of material found within 1920-1960
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
There is no restriction on access to the Cole Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from Cole Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Extent
26 Linear feet (23 records storage boxes, 4 archives boxes, 1 half archives box and 3 flat boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Letters, reports, minutes, speeches, photographs, printed matter and other materials documenting Charles W. Cole's personal life and professional career as President of Amherst College (1946-1960) and as a member of a variety of committees and boards in the private and public sector. The collection also includes correspondence and other personal papers of Cole's first wife, Katharine, but does not include any significant material related to Cole's appointment as Ambassador to Chile or Trustee of Hampshire College.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into fourteen series:
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1921-1978, undated
- Series 2: Appointment Calendars, 1938-1958
- Series 3: Speeches, 1938-1960, undated
- Series 4: Amherst College, 1945-1954
- Series 5: Personal Affairs, 1906-1953, bulk: 1920-1953
- Series 6: Writings, 1920-1958
- Series 7: Fund for the Republic, Inc., 1952-1960
- Series 8: Committee on the National Security Organization, 1948-1950
- Series 9: American Cancer Society Advisory Committee on Institutional Research Grants, 1956-1958
- Series 10: Air Force Committee, 1949-1951
- Series 11: Merrill Foundation for Advancement of Financial Knowledge, Inc., 1945-1958
- Series 12: Educational Testing Service, 1949-1956
- Series 13: Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, 1950-1955 (unsorted)
- Series 14: Katharine Cole Papers, 1916-1964
Chronology
- 1906
- February 8: Born in Montclair, New Jersey, son of Charles Buckingham and Bertha Woolsey (Dwight) Cole. Attends Montclair High School.
- 1923
- Enrolls at Amherst College, where he is a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, The Amherst Student, and Phi Beta Kappa.
- 1926
- April-December: serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Amherst Student.
- 1927
- June: Graduates summa cum laude from Amherst College.
- 1928
- MA degree, Columbia University.
- Teaches economic history at Columbia while pursuing doctorate
- August 28: Marries Katharine Salmon (Smith College, 1928) in St. Louis
- 1931
- PhD, Columbia University
- Book: French Mercantilist Doctrines Before Colbert is published
- 1935-1940
- Professor of Economics, Amherst College
- 1939
- Book: Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism is published
- 1940-1946
- Professor of History, Columbia University
- 1941-1945
- During World War II, Cole spends a year with the Office of Price Administration in Washington and two years in New York City as Regional Price Executive
- 1942
- LHD (hon.), Amherst College
- 1943
- Book: French Mercantilism, 1683-1700 is published.
- 1946-1960
- 12th President, Amherst College. Under Cole's administration the "New Curriculum" is introduced, in which each student is required to take a course in science, English, European civilization and a foreign language. Also, the teaching faculty is strengthened, the student body grows in size from 1,000 to 1,200 and its endowment grows from $16 million to $42 million. Upon his retirement he is elected President Emeritus by the Board of Trustees.
- 1948 October
- Cole is appointed advisor to the Committee on the National Security Organization (Ferdinand Eberstadt, Chairman), one of many U.S. governmental task forces making up the Hoover Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of Government
- 1949
- Book: History of Europe (with Carlton J. H. Hayes and Marshall W. Baldwin) is published
- 1949-1956
- Trustee, Educational Testing Service
- 1952
- Book: Economic History of Europe (with S. B. Clough) is published
- Joins the Board of Directors of Fund for the Republic, Inc.
- 1956-
- Trustee, Merrill Foundation for the Advancement of Financial Knowledge, Inc.
- 1960-1961
- Vice-President, Rockefeller Foundation
- 1961-1964
- Cole serves as U.S. Ambassador to Chile in Santiago
- 1965-
- stee, Clarke School for the Deaf (Northampton, Massachusetts)
- Trustee, Hampshire College
- 1966-1968
- Director, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Boston
- 1967
- Book: History of Western Civilization is published
- 1970
- Book: A Free People (2 volumes) is published
- 1972
- Wife Katharine dies of a heart attack at home
- 1974
- Marries Marie Greer Donahoe
- Moves to Seattle, Washington
- 1978
- February 6: Dies of a heart attack while at sea returning from a trip through the Caribbean. Burial in Wildwood Cemetery, Amherst
Children: Elizabeth (wife of Hugh M. Hamill, Jr. AC 1951)
Katharine (wife of John C. Esty, Jr. AC 1950)
Honorary degrees: American International, Amherst, Clarkson, Columbia, Doshisha, Hamilton, Trinity, University of Massachusetts, Wagner, Wesleyan, Williams
Hobbies: Gardening, trout fishing
- American Cancer Society
- Amherst College -- Presidents Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cole, Charles Woolsey, 1906-1978 (AC 1927)
- Cole, Katharine (Salmon), 1906-1972
- Columbia University -- Faculty
- Educational Testing Service
- Fund for the Republic
- Merrill Foundation for Advancement of Financial Knowledge
- Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association
- United States. Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (1947-1949)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Peter A. Nelson, Assistant Archivist
- Date
- 2005
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299
archives@amherst.edu