Collection Summary
James Free Papers
1929-1996
(bulk 1951-1979)
1929-1996
(bulk 1951-1979)
MSS83945
Free,
James
2,950
items
9 containers plus 1 oversize
4 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Journalist. Story files
and scrapbooks of clippings of Free's articles for various newspapers,
especially as Washington, D.C., correspondent for the
Birmingham News covering the civil rights movement and
the Cold War.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Free, Ann Cottrell.
Free, James.
Hubbard, L. Ron (La Fayette Ron), 1911-1986.
Subjects
African Americans--Civil rights.
American newspapers--Alabama--Birmingham.
Civil rights movements--United States.
Civil rights--United States.
Cold War.
Journalism--Washington (D.C.)
Motion pictures--Caribbean Area.
Titles
Birmingham news.
Occupations
Journalists.
Provenance
The papers of James Free, journalist, were given to the Library of
Congress in 1997 by his wife, Ann Cottrell Free.
Processing History
The papers of James Free were arranged and described in 1999. The
register was revised in 2008.
Related Materials
Additional papers of James Free may be found in the Manuscript
Division's records of the Gridiron Club of Washington, D.C., which Free served
as historian from 1979 to 1991.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of James Free in
these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress
is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for
further information.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of James Free are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, James Free Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1908, Nov. 5
Born, Gordo, Ala.
1929
B.A., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Attended Theodora Duncan School of Theater, New York,
N.Y.
Starred in vaudeville productions, "What Women Want" and
"Cradle of the Deep"
1930
B.L., Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
Reporter,
Tuscaloosa News
, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1931
Circulation supervisor,
New York Times
, Brooklyn, N.Y.
1931
1932
Associate editor, Tennis magazine
circa 1931
Insurance salesman, Yazoo and Mississippi Railroad Co.
1932
Worked for L. Ron Hubbard aboard schooner in
Carribbean
1932
1933
Editor,
Tuscaloosa Weekly Warrior
, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1933
Visited Central America
Edited English-language newspaper in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras
Assisted in campaign for reelection, Richmond Pearson
Hobson, Jr., circuit court clerk of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1934
Conducted Works Progress Administration project, Suburban
Subsistence Living
Conducted Tennessee Valley Authority research project,
Gorgas, Ala.
1935
1937
Reporter,
Birmingham News
, Birmingham, Ala.
1937
1939
Reporter,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
, Richmond, Va.
1939
1941
Reporter,
Evening Star
, Washington, D.C.
1941
1946
Reporter,
Chicago Sun
(later
Sun-Times
), Washington, D.C., with a two-year
absence from 1943-1944
1942
1945
Private, United States Army Air Force; officer, United States
Navy
1946
1947
Reporter,
Raleigh News and Observer
and Winston-Salem
Journal
and
Sentinel
, Washington, D.C.
1947
1979
Reporter,
Birmingham News
, Washington, D.C.
1949
1968
Public information officer, United States Navy Reserve
1950
Married Ann Cottrell
1954
Special citation for exceptional Washington reporting, Raymond
Clapper Award Committee
1960
Chairman, Standing Committee of Correspondents of the
Congressional Press Galleries
1963
Nominated for Pulitzer Prize in journalism
1969
Elected to Gridiron Club (historian, 1979-1991)
1979
Relinquished full duties as Washington correspondent of the
Birmingham News
and entered semi-retirement
1985
Published The First 100 Years!: A Casual Chronicle of the
Gridiron Club.
Washington, D.C.: The Club
1989
Elected to Society of Professional Journalists Hall of
Fame
1996, Apr. 3
Died, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of James Stillman Free (1908-1996) span the years from 1929
to 1996, with the bulk of the material dated 1951-1979. Free served as national
capital correspondent for several newspapers, notably the
Birmingham News
of Birmingham, Alabama, during the Cold
War period and civil rights movement. Free's clippings document reporting on
civil rights from 1961 through 1979. His story files also illustrate media
coverage of the Soviet Bloc and the Cold War.
Free's papers consist of files and scrapbooks of his major stories;
"National Whirligig," the newspaper column he coauthored with his wife, Ann
Cottrell Free; and notebooks in which he recorded interviews and information.
Free's story files are organized alphabetically by subject.
Free also participated in L. Ron Hubbard's Caribbean Motion Picture
Expedition in 1932. Hubbard, a university student, organized and chartered the
expedition with the intent of filming movies in the exotic locales of the
Caribbean. Insufficient capital caused the expedition's insolvency midway
through the voyage, during which only one movie was made. Free's files contain
photographs of expedition members aboard the schooner Doris Hamlin, the schooner's deck log and daily reports,
and correspondence and notes by Free.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material and
therein alphabetically.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Biographical information
1
General,
1929-1996, undated
1929-1996, undated
1
Newspaper clippings,
1942-1996, undated
1942-1996, undated
1
Photograph with Ronald Reagan,
1985
1985
1
Diary,
1944
1944
1
Notebooks,
1965-1980, undated (3 folders)
1965-1980, undated (3 folders)
2
Scrapbooks
2
Civil rights articles,
1961
[
See Oversize
](free2)
1961
2
Letters from members of Congress
re Free's career,
1979
1979
2
Raymond Clapper Award entries,
1954
[
See Oversize
](free3)
1954
2
Subject file
2
Agriculture,
1955-1959, 1967-1969, 1977-1978,
undated
1955-1959, 1967-1969, 1977-1978,
undated
2
Allen, James B.,
1978-1979, undated
1978-1979, undated
2
Andrews, George,
1970-1971
1970-1971
2
Berlin, Germany,
trips
2
East Berlin, German Democratic
Republic,
1961
1961
2
West Berlin, Federal Republic
of Germany,
1961-1962
1961-1962
(2
folders)
2
Bevill, Tom,
1977-1979
1977-1979
2
Biographies,
1951-1979, undated
1951-1979, undated
(2
folders)
2
Black, Hugo Lafayette,
1967
1967
2
Blount, Winton M.,
1970-1979
1970-1979
2
Boykin, Frank W.,
1955-1959, undated
1955-1959, undated
2
Buchanan, John,
1976-1979, undated
1976-1979, undated
3
Carter, Jimmy,
1977-1979, undated
1977-1979, undated
3
Central America, visit,
1933
1933
3
Civil rights
3
Newspaper front pages,
1961-1965
1961-1965
3
Praise and criticism by Free,
1960-1961
1960-1961
3
Stories,
1951-1969, undated
1951-1969, undated
(4
folders)
4
Defense,
1951-1978, undated
1951-1978, undated
4
Economics,
1952-1953, 1961, 1978, undated
1952-1953, 1961, 1978, undated
4
Education,
1952-1958, 1977, undated
1952-1958, 1977, undated
4
Edwards, Jack,
1976-1979
1976-1979
4
Elections,
1951-1960, 1976-1978, undated
1951-1960, 1976-1978, undated
4
Electric power industry,
1950-1960, 1977, undated
1950-1960, 1977, undated
4
Elliott, Carl,
1953-1965, undated
1953-1965, undated
4
Environment,
1976-1978, undated
1976-1978, undated
4
Feature stories,
1956-1978, undated
1956-1978, undated
4
Fernsworth, Larry,
1978
1978
4
Fitzgerald, A. Ernest,
1970-1982, undated
1970-1982, undated
4
Flippo, Ronnie C.,
1978-1979
1978-1979
4
Flowers, Walter,
1977-1978
1977-1978
5
Ford, Gerald R.,
1986
1986
5
Foreign affairs,
1962-1966, undated
1962-1966, undated
5
Heflin, Howell T.,
1978-1979
1978-1979
5
Hill, Lister,
1952, 1966-1968, undated
1952, 1966-1968, undated
5
Hubbard, L. Ron
5
Biographical information,
circa 1986
circa 1986
5
Caribbean Motion Picture
Expedition
(1932)
(1932)
5
Article by Robert Burgess re
Doris Hamlin (schooner),
1986
1986
5
Deck log and daily record of
Doris Hamlin (schooner) and expedition,
1932
1932
5
Photographs of
Doris Hamlin (schooner) and crew,
1932
1932
5
Notes by Free,
undated
undated
5
Reviews of book,
Dianetics
,
1988-1989
1988-1989
5
Jackson, Philip C., Jr.,
undated
undated
5
Johnson, Lyndon B.,
1964-1969, undated
1964-1969, undated
5
Kennedy, John F.,
1960-1963, undated
1960-1963, undated
5
Kennedy, John F., and Martin
Luther King, Jr., probe of assassinations, 1968,
1976-1978
1976-1978
6
"National Whirligig" (syndicated
column with Ann Cottrell Free)
6
Columns,
1961-1962, undated
1961-1962, undated
(2
folders)
6
Correspondence,
1960-1962, undated
1960-1962, undated
6
Newspaper articles
6
Birmingham News
6
1945-1961
1945-1961
(3
folders)
7
1961-1982
1961-1982
(3
folders)
7
Chicago Sun
,
1946
1946
7
Evening Star
, Washington, D.C.,
1939
1939
7
Richmond Times-Dispatch
,
1937-1938, 1947
1937-1938, 1947
7
Nichols, Bill,
1976-1978
1976-1978
7
Nickerson, John C.,
Jr.,
1955-1959, undated
1955-1959, undated
7
Political party conventions,
1952-1968, undated
1952-1968, undated
7
Politics,
1960-1965
1960-1965
7
Redstone missile
[
See same container, Nickerson, John C.](free7)
8
Russia trip (1975),
1975
1975
8
Selden, Armistead I.,
1979
1979
8
Shelby, Richard C.,
1979
1979
8
Space,
1961-1962, undated
1961-1962, undated
8
Sparkman, John Jackson,
1953-1955, 1966-1967, 1975-1978,
1985
1953-1955, 1966-1967, 1975-1978,
1985
8
Strode, Hudson, and Carl Carmer,
1976
1976
8
United States Congress,
1952-1979, undated
1952-1979, undated
8
Vance, Robert S.,
1976-1977
1976-1977
8
Wallace, George C.
8
1963-1979
1963-1979
(3
folders)
9
1982, 1992, undated
1982, 1992, undated
(2
folders)
9
Waterways,
1951-1966, 1979, undated
1951-1966, 1979, undated
9
Telephone numbers,
circa 1950s-circa 1960s
circa 1950s-circa 1960s
OV 1
Oversize
OV 1
Scrapbooks
OV 1
Civil rights
articles,
1961 (Container 2)
1961 (Container 2)
OV 1
Raymond Clapper
Award entries,
1954 (Container 2)
1954 (Container 2)