Arthur David Kemp Owen papers, 1938-1970

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

The collection is listed in an inventory.

• Collection Inventory

Description

Summary

Correspondence and professional files of Owen. Most of the materials in this collection relate to his activities at the UN. These include numerous documents and reports pertaining to the United Nations' technical assistance programs. Some of Owen's speeches and publications are also in the collection. The reports Owen received from Gunnar Myrdal and those concerning the private meetings of the Secretary General are especially interesting. A few of the people with whom Owen corresponded are Lady Astor, Clement Attlee, Chester Bowles, Sir Stafford Cripps, John Diefenbaker, Dag Hammarskjöld, Julian Huxley, B.H. Liddell Hart, Trygve Lie, Selwyn Lloyd, Gunnar Myrdal, Adlai Stevenson, and U Thant. Also, papers on regional planning and social services in Great Britain from 1938 to 1944, with emphasis on Scotland. There are manuscripts, manuscript notes, social surveys, government reports, and related correspondence on such topics as hospitals, housing, youth, and the aged. There is some correspondence regarding Owen's association with a private research group Political and Economic Planning (PEP). Among the Scotland files are Owen's manuscripts, notes, and related material for his Stevenson Lectures in Citizenship at the University of Glasgow, 1939-1944.

• Collection Inventory

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 4-39. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Arthur David Kemp Owen papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Burger, Mrs. Elisabeth Owen. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1973. Accession number--M-73.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 08/--/89.

Revision Description

2009-06-26 File created.

2014-06-04 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Co-administrator for the United Nations Development Program. 1966-1969, and executive chairman of the United Nations Technical Assistance Board, 1957-1965. Owen was a distinguished British civil servant who attended the San Francisco Conference in 1945 and worked thereafter for the United Nations (UN).