Waldo Gifford Leland

Waldo Gifford Leland (1879-1966) was an American historian and archivist.

Life

Waldo Gifford Leland was born on July 17, 1879 in Newton, Massachusetts. He attended Brown University, earning a BA. In 1900 he enrolled at Harvard University and earned an MS in history in 1901.

In 1903 he joined the Carnegie Institute where he and Claude H. Van Tyne co-authored the Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington (1904). Leland then produced a revised and expanded edition in 1907, did extensive work documenting materials for American history in France, and directed the foreign copying program of the Library of Congress for French manuscripts relating to the US. He also served as Secretary to the American Historical Association from 1909 to 1920 and produced documentation to support the establishment of the US National Archives, which opened in 1934.

Leland helped form the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and left the Carnegie Institution to serve as ACLS secretary from 1927 to 1939 and as director from 1939 until his retirement in 1946. Leland remained active, notably with UNESCO, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, and the National Park Service. He died on October 19, 1966.

Contributions

Leland had a wide-ranging influence in the development of archives, archival theory, historical resources, and international developments.

Publications

• "Bibliography of Waldo Gifford Leland." In: Studies in the history of culture. Menasha, WI: George Banta Pub. Co., 1942, pp [332]-336.

• Guide to the archives of the government of the United States in Washington. by Claude Halstead Van Tyne and Waldo Gifford Leland. 2d ed. [Washington]: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1907. [1]
• "The national archives: a programme." The American Historical Review 18, no. 1 (1912): 1-28. [2]
• Guide to materials for American history in the libraries and archives of Paris. Washington, DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1932-1943. 2v. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication ; 392.
• "Recollections of an Itinerant Historian." In Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 61, no 2 (1952): 267-296.
• Archival Principles: Selections from the Writings of Waldo Gifford Leland. Vol. 20. National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1955.
• 'Reminiscences of Waldo Gifford Leland, 1955. Columbia University, Oral History Archives. [3]
• Waldo Gifford Leland and the Origins of the American Archival Profession. Ed. Peter J. Wosh. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2011. Anthology of Leland's writings.

Offices

• American Documentation Institute. President, 1947.
• International Committee of Historical Sciences. Treasurer then President, 1938-1948.
• Union Académique International. President.
• Society of American Archivists. President, 1939.
• American Council of Learned Societies. Secretary, 1927-39; Director, 1939-1946.
• American Historical Association. Secretary, 1909-20

Awards

Leland received multiple honorary doctorates and other awards. Prizes in his honor were established by the Society of American Archivists in 1959 and by the American Historical Association in 1981.

Further reading

• "Waldo Gifford Leland." Wikipedia [4]
• Cappon, Lester J. "In memoriam. Waldo Gifford Leland, i879-1966." American Archivist 30, no 1 (Jan 1967): 125-128. Includes portrait.
• Ross, Rodney A. "Waldo Gifford Leland: Archivist by Association," American Archivist 46, no 3 (Summer 1983): 264-276. [5]

• Studies in the history of culture. Menasha, WI: George Banta Pub. Co., 1942. "A testimonial of appreciation to Waldo Gifford Leland."

Papers

• Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, DC. Waldo Gifford Leland papers, 1844-1966.[6]
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY. LELAND, WALDO G., Archivist and historian: Papers, 1938-52. [7]
• Columbia University. Library. Search under: Leland, Waldo Gifford, 1879-1966.