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Finding aid available
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
This collection is arranged in six series: Series 1: World Missionary Conference; Series 2: Continuation Committees; Series 3: International Missionary Council; Series 4: Biographical Documentation; Series 5: Source Files; and Series 6: General Correspondence.
John Raleigh Mott was born May 25, 1865 to parents John and Elmira (Dodge) Mott in Livingston Manor, New York. The family soon moved to Postville, Iowa. John attended the Methodist institution Upper Iowa University, and then transferred to Cornell University as a sophomore. While at Cornell, Mott was president of the University Christian Association. After graduation in 1888, he travelled for one year as secretary with the Inter-Collegiate Young Men's Christian Association. Mott married Leila Ada White in 1891. Together they would have two sons and two daughters. He founded the Student Volunteer Movement in 1888 and would establish SVM chapters throughout the world. In 1895, Mott organized the World's Student Christian Federation. The YMCA, WSCF and SVM allowed Mott to travel the world. He was present at the founding of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America in 1893, and it was through this organization where he met J. H. Oldham. Mott and Oldham together would plan and lead the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910. Mott was Chairman of the WMC and Commission 1, as well as head of the Continuation Committee. During World War One, Mott worked to help German missions and missionaries functional. President Woodrow Wilson appointed Mott in 1917 on the Root Mission to Russia and was able to extend the ecumenical network to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1920, Mott stepped down as leader of the Student Volunteer Movement and the World's Student Christian Federation, although he continued to remain involved with both organizations. In 1921, Mott chaired the International Missionary Council, and in 1926 became president of the World's Alliance of YMCAs. John Mott received the Nobel Peace Prize with Emily Greene Balch in 1946 for his "earnest and undiscourageable effort to weave together all nations, all races and all religious communions in friendliness, in fellowship and in cooperation." He was named an honorary chair at the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948. John Mott was awarded several honorary degrees and various decorations from governments throughout the world during his lifetime. He wrote more than a dozen books focusing on topics such as missions and ecumenism. John passed away in Orlando, Florida on January 31, 1955 at the age of eighty-nine.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL12, Ecumenical/World Mission
Item description, MRL12: John R. Mott papers, series #, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Some letters, minutes, reports, memoranda, and articles were cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-08-03. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. An item-level folder listing was created in 1981. Order was imposed and the collection was fully processed by Brigette Kamsler in January 2012. The finding aid was created by Brigette C. Kamsler in 2012 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2026.
The finding aid for the John R. Mott Papers, Record Group No. 45, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library can be found online here: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.045.
Also available at Yale is the collection of the Archives of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, Record Group No. 42, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.042.
Mott's papers in relation to the YMCA can be found at the University of Minnesota as part of the Kautz Family YMCA Archives. http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;q1=mott;rgn=main;view=text;didno=yusa0013.
The Burke Library holds many collections with which Mott was associated, including MRL12: International Missionary Council; MRL12: World Missionary Conference: Edinburgh, 1910; MRL12: Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions; MRL12: Foreign Missions Conference of North America; and in the William Adams Brown Ecumenical Archives: World Council of Churches. There is also a folder on Mott in MRL12: Missionary Biographical Records in Box 4 Folder 20.
This collection contains general records relating to the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland June 14-23, 1910 as well as specific records Mott gained while Chair of the World Missionary Conference; records from the Continuation Committee, including handwritten notes and records from sectional conferences; records from the International Missionary Council, including correspondence, conference materials and other reports; biographical information, notes, and photographs; printed material such as articles, newspaper clippings and pamphlets; and correspondence related to Mott's career with a variety of organizations.
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
This series is open for research.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series contains general records relating to the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland June 14-23, 1910 as well as specific records Mott gained while Chair of the World Missionary Conference. The series includes a large amount of detailed correspondence in the months leading up to the conference in 1910, as well as after the conference was held. Some of the correspondence includes copies from Mott himself, as well as originals from others involved with the conference. Also included are questionnaires related to the survey Mott conducted on the Condition of the Home Church between February and April 1910 which was presented at the conference, Commission 1 Conclusions – Japan and Commission 1, Personal Notes, Edinburgh Conference, as well as a pamphlet titled "Intercessors – The Primary Need: An Address by John R. Mott, with Related Selections from the Conclusions of Commissions of the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, 1910."
This series is open for research.
This series is arranged by committee and format.
This series contains records from the Continuation Committee, which was appointed during the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh to "carry forward the investigations begun by the Commissions and to preserve and extend the atmosphere and spirit of the Conference." As Chairman of the Continuation Committee, Mott was tasked with visiting the mission fields throughout the world in order to spread the word of the Conference, the Continuation Committee and its Special Committees; and to study those in the mission field. Mott spent months devoted to this request and went on an extended tour of the principal mission fields in Asia from 1912 – 1913. Included throughout are Mott's handwritten notes, such as "Report of Goucher's Visit to Far East, 1910-11." The Special Committee on Christian Literature includes items from the various sections throughout the world, including China, the American Section, and the European Section. Also in this series are records from a sectional conference in India. A total of eighteen sectional conferences were held so that Mott could accomplish more in his time.
This series is open for research.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series contains records from the International Missionary Council, which was generated from the World Missionary Conference's Continuation Committee in 1921. In the beginning, some early functions of the IMC were to study mission problems and disseminate information; to coordinate missionary activities; to unite Christian forces; and to organize area and world mission conferences. These missionary conferences were utilized to stimulate missionary thinking, missionary cooperation and missionary advance. Four notable world conferences were in Jerusalem (1928); Madras, India (1938); Whitby, Canada (1947); and Willingen, Germany (1952). The series includes correspondence, conference materials and other reports during Mott's association with the Council.
This series is open for research.
This series is arranged by format.
This series contains biographical information, notes, and photographs focusing on the life of John Raleigh Mott, as well as a pamphlet from a dinner held in honor of Mott's Nobel Peace Prize.
This series is open for research.
This series is unarranged.
Within this series are printed material such as articles, newspaper clippings and pamphlets, as well as transcripts of articles and letters, and manuscript material including personal handwritten notes by Mott. Mott maintained a large collection of source material for use in committees and for when he was preparing addresses and publications. He also collected these items when he was traveling throughout the world during his time as Chairman of the Continuation Committee for the World Missionary Conference. Specific items of note are from Korea, 1912 – 1920, and Germany, 1913 – 1922. Mott was a member of the Commission on Relations with the Orient of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and these records are also from his time as Chairman. The German mission materials include correspondence, pamphlets, notes and other general information on Germany from the time period indicated.
The Korean Conspiracy Case by Arthur Judson Brown Persecution in Korea: Sidelights on the Japanese Case by One of the "Persecuted" The Situation in Korea
Franklin Brockman to J. R. Mott, October 16, 1919; includes Press Proof of an Open Letter, "To His Excellency Baron Saito…Signed on Behalf of Federal Council, September 29, 1919"; Correspondence from George Gleason and Report on Korean Uprising and Photographs (9) featuring Gleason with notes by Mott, 1919; Correspondence, Homer Hulbert: Copies of Documents appointing him Envoy of Emperor [191?]
Korea's Appeal for Self-Determination, by an American born in Korea Japanese Diplomacy and Force in Korea by Arthur MacLennan, The Korean "Independence Agitation" – Articles Reprinted from the Seoul Press, The Korean Independence Movement: pamphlet with photos, 192[?], An Open Letter by the Women of Korea, with photos, 192[?], Korea Review, September – October 1919, Pamphlet and Accompanying Items, 1919, The Korea Situation: Authentic Accounts of Recent Events by Eye Witnesses, issued by the Commission on Relations with the Orient of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, Note and More Light from Korea, 1919, Korea and Shantung versus The White Pearl by Charles H. Sherrill; The Anti-Japanese Agitation in California by Colonel John P. Irish, 1920, The Korea Situation, Number 2; issued by the Commission on Relations with the Orient of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, The Disturbances in Korea, Department of the Christian Literature Society of Japan, reprinted from the "Japan Evangelist," July 1919, Korea's Fight for Freedom by F. A. McKenzie, 1919, The Other Side of the Korean Question: Fresh Light on Some Important Factors by Frank Herron Smith, 1920, Administrative Reforms in Korea – Articles Reprinted from the Seoul Press, 1919, The Peace Conference, Korean Delegation – Petition and Memorandum Pamphlets, April 1919
This series is open for research.
This series is arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
This series contains original correspondence related to Mott's career with a variety of organizations.
Legacy finding aid with list of correspondents available; please contact burkespecial@library.columbia.edu.