Guide to the Adolph William Schmidt Collection, 1957-1965 AIS.1968.03
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Adolph William Schmidt Collection
Creator
Schmidt, Adolph William
Collection Number
AIS.1968.03
Extent
8.75 Linear Feet
Date
1957-1965
Abstract
The collection contains information about the Atlantic Union including records, correspondence, and proceedings that relate to the formation of a Union among Western democracies collected by Adolph William Schmidt while he served as a delegate.
Language
English
.
Author
Margaret Ferguson and Nancy Harvey. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in December, 2001.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Biography
A financial and foundation executive and native of McKeesport, Pa., Adolph William Schmidt graduated from Princeton University and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He was Vice President and Governor of T. Mellon and Sons, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, President of The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, and a Trustee and Treasurer of the Old Dominion Foundation.
In World War II, Schmidt served with the Army and OSS in Africa and Europe from 1942 until 1946, and was discharged as Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded the Bronze Star and two battle stars.
The Pittsburgh Press cited Adolph William Schmidt as one of the key men in Pittsburgh's renaissance while he was Chairman of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the organization that sparked much of Pittsburgh's redevelopment program. Schmidt served as an officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association, and was a member of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board since 1955.
A staunch advocate of liberal education, Schmidt served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors and Governors of St. John's College, Annapolis, Md., and as a member of the Alumni Council of Princeton University.
The Papers of the Atlantic Union were collected by Adolph William Schmidt, who supported the concept of an Atlantic Union initially proposed by Clarence K. Streit in 1939. After the Axis powers were defeated in WWII, and the West's former ally, the Soviet Union, emerged as an enemy state, the core concepts of the Atlantic Union idea were eventually adopted by Western leaders, but implemented through the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Coal Steel Community which evolved into the European Union. NATO and European integration efforts, strengthened by the Marshall Plan, provided the infrastructure, and helped the West to defend itself against Soviet totalitarianism and communist doctrine.
A delegate to the Conference on North Atlantic Community in Bruges, Belgium, 1957, and to the Atlantic Congress in London, 1959, Mr. Schmidt and other delegates worked to create and carry out their recommendations for an Atlantic Institute. Schmidt served on the Board of the Institute, and as ambassador to Canada under the Nixon Administration.
Scope and Content Notes
The collection contains the correspondence of citizens who organized groups to promote Atlantic unity; together with documents and minutes of the Atlantic Union Committee, the Atlantic Institute, the International Movement for Atlantic Union, U.S. Citizens Commission on NATO, the Atlantic Council of the United States, and the Atlantic Congress, 1959.
The greatest individual correspondence is that of Adolph William Schmidt. Other persons represented include Justin Blackwelder, William Clayton, Gerald Henry, Hugh Moore, Walden Moore, Lithgow Osborn, Elmo Roper, and Richard Wallace.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Acquisition Information
The collection was a gift of Adolph William Schimdt in 1965-1966.
Preferred Citation
Collection of Adolph William Schmidt, 1957-1965, AIS.1968.03, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Previous Citation
Collection of Adolph William Schmidt, 1957-1965, AIS.1968.03, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Papers of the Atlantic Union, ais 68:3, Archives of Industrial Society, University of Pittsburgh
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Archives Service Center staff.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jared Campbell in 2001. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 1421191
Copyright
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Atlantic Union Committee
United States. Congress
Personal Names
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio) -- Correspondence
Ives, Irving McNeil -- Correspondence
Henry, Gerald B. -- Correspondence
Hartley, Livingston -- Correspondence
Gillette, Guy M. (Guy Mark) -- Correspondence
Garwood, Ellen -- Correspondence
Flower, Henry C. -- Correspondence
Edson, C. A. -- Correspondence
Dennis, Donald P. (Donald Philips)
Clayton, Will -- Correspondence
Blackwelder, Justin -- Correspondence
Bishop, Robert J. (Robert Jefferson) -- Correspondence
Agar, Herbert -- Correspondence
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines) -- Correspondence
Kefauver, Estes -- Correspondence
Meeman, Edward J. (Edward John) -- Correspondence
Moore, Hugh -- Correspondence
Moore, Walden -- Correspondence
Orgill, Edmund -- Correspondence
Osborn, Stellanova -- Correspondence
Osborne, Lithgow -- Correspondence
Patterson, Robert Porter -- Correspondence
Roberts, Owen J. (Owen Josephus) -- Correspondence
Roper, Elmo -- Correspondence
Streit, Clarence K. (Clarence Kirshman) -- Correspondence
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