Collection Summary
Rudy Abramson Papers
1941-1990
1941-1990
MSS86328
Abramson, Rudy
1,000 items
3 containers
1.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Journalist and author. Research files
for Abramson’s biography of W. Averell Harriman,
Spanning the Century: The Life of W. Averell Harriman, 1891-1986
, consisting of oral history interview transcripts, correspondence,
memoranda, research notes, printed matter, and other papers.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Rudy Abramson were given to the Library of Congress by Nancy Coleman
Wolsk and Julia Diane Parrish from the estate of Thomas Parrish in 2019.
Processing History
The papers of Rudy Abramson were arranged and described by Thomas Bigley in 2021.
Related Material
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include the papers of W. Averell
Harriman (see https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003012).
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Rudy Abramson is governed by
the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Rudy Abramson are open to research. Many collections are stored
off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Rudy Abramson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1937, Aug. 31
Born, Florence, Ala.
1958
Graduate, University of Mississippi
1958
1965
Reporter, Nashville Tennessean
1965
1993
Washington correspondent, Los Angeles Times
1965, Dec. 31
Married Joyce Taylor
1992
Published
Spanning the Century: The Life of W. Averell Harriman,
1891-1986.
New York: W. Morrow
circa 1993
1994
Executive director, Protect Historic America
1996
Published
Hallowed Ground: Preserving America's Heritage.
Charlottesville: Thomasson-Grant & Lickle
2006
Co-editor with Jean Haskell,
The Encyclopedia of Appalachia.
Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press
2008, Feb. 13
Died, Fairfax, Va.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Rudy Abramson (1937-2008) span the years 1941-1990. The collection
contains the research files for Abramson’s biography of W. Averell Harriman,
Spanning the Century: The Life of W. Averell Harriman, 1891-1986.
Included in the papers are transcripts of interviews with W. Averell Harriman and
sixty-eight other people including McGeorge Bundy, Clark M. Clifford, Mary Averell
Harriman Fisk, William C. Foster, Jack W. Germond, Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward
Harriman, Richard Helms, Richard C. Holbrooke, Robert A. Lovett, John J. McCloy,
Kathleen Lanier Harriman Mortimer, William S. Paley, W. W. Rostow, Dean Rusk,
Dorothy Schiff, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Theodore C. Sorensen, and Jack Valenti.
The collection also includes a file relating to Harriman’s interactions with Winston
Churchill and Joseph Stalin. The file spans the years between the beginning of the
Lend-Lease program, which Harriman helped coordinate, and Harriman’s tenures as
United States ambassador to the Soviet Union and United States ambassador to the
United Kingdom.
The remainder of the collection mainly consists of Abramson’s research into the
Lend-Lease program and Harriman’s role in helping coordinate it. There is also a
portion of a diary published by Robert P. Meiklejohn, one of Harriman's former
secretaries, a small miscellany file, and Abramson's research notes.
Arrangement of the Collection
This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material.
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
Abramson, Rudy.
Abramson, Rudy. Spanning the century : the life of W. Averell Harriman, 1891-1986. 1992.
Bundy, McGeorge--Interviews.
Churchill, Winston, 1871-1947.
Clifford, Clark M., 1906-1998--Interviews.
Fisk, Mary Averell Harriman, 1917-1996--Interviews.
Foster, William C. (William Chapman), 1897-1984--Interviews.
Germond, Jack W. (Jack Worthen), 1928-2013--Interviews.
Harriman, Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward, 1920-1997--Interviews.
Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986--Interviews.
Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986.
Helms, Richard--Interviews.
Holbrooke, Richard C., 1941-2010--Interviews.
Lovett, Robert A. (Robert Abercrombie), 1895-1986--Interviews.
McCloy, John J. (John Jay), 1895-1989--Interviews.
Meiklejohn, Robert P.--Diaries. 1941-1946.
Mortimer, Kathleen Lanier Harriman, 1917-2011--Interviews.
Paley, William S. (William Samuel), 1901-1990--Interviews.
Rostow, W. W. (Walt Whitman), 1916-2003--Interviews.
Rusk, Dean, 1909-1994--Interviews.
Schiff, Dorothy, 1903-1989--Correspondence.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. (Arthur Meier), 1917-2007--Interviews.
Sorensen, Theodore C.--Interviews.
Stalin, Joseph, 1878-1953.
Valenti, Jack--Interviews.
Subjects
Diplomatic and consular service, American--Great Britain.
Diplomatic and consular service, American--Soviet Union.
Lend-lease operations (1941-1945)
Statesmen--United States--Biography.
World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects.
World War, 1939-1945--Europe.
World War, 1939-1945--United States.
Places
Europe--Foreign relations--United States.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--United States.
Soviet Union--Foreign relations--United States.
United States--Foreign relations--20th century.
United States--Foreign relations--Europe.
United States--Foreign relations--Great Britain.
United States--Foreign relations--Soviet Union.
Occupations
Authors.
Journalists.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2019086328]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Churchill, Winston, and Joseph
Stalin, 1941-1944
1941-1944
(11 folders)
1
Interviews
1
Harriman, W. Averell, 1953,
1981-1984
1953, 1981-1984
(2 folders)
1
Others, 1966-1968,
1981-1989
1966-1968, 1981-1989
1
Abel, Ellie-Buttenweiser,
Ben
1
Clifford, Clark-Dutchin,
Peter
2
Evans, Jim-Friendly,
Alfred
2
Germond, Jack W.-Hilsman,
Roger
2
Holbrooke, Richard C.-Klopfer,
Donald
2
Lanigan, Jim-McCloy, John
2
McGhee, George Crews-Mortimer,
Kathleen Lanier Harriman
2
Nielsen, Waldemar A.-Rumsey,
Charles
2
Rusk, Dean-Schlesinger, Arthur M.,
Jr.
2
Shulman, Marshall D.-Swope, Herbert
Bayard
2
Tannenwald, Theodore
(3 folders)
2
Taylor, Maxwell D.-Whitridge,
Arnold
2
Lend-Lease Program
2
Correspondence and memoranda, 1941,
Jan.-Apr.
1941, Jan.-Apr.
(2 folders)
3
Correspondence and memoranda, 1941,
May-1945, Mar.
1941, May-1945, Mar.
(3 folders)
3
Printed matter, 1941, 1953, 1959,
1965-1983
1941, 1953, 1959, 1965-1983
(5 folders)
3
Meiklejohn, Robert P., diary, 1941-1946
1941-1946
(3 folders)
3
Miscellany, 1941, 1963-1967,
1975
1941, 1963-1967, 1975
3
Notes, circa 1990
circa 1990