This collection is located onsite.
This collection has no restrictions.
This small collection consists of a selection of Gustavus T. Kirby's correspondence related to the Columbia University Club (and the purchase of the new house by Gramercy Park and invitations to alumni), the Columbia 150th Founding Anniversary Dinner in 1904, George F. Sever's position at the School of Engineering, and a few letters related to the Athletic Association, which funded collegiate sports teams including football.
Series I: Gustavus T. Kirby papers, 1900-1911
This collection is organized alphabetically by correpondent's name. Materials are also include a reference to the subject matter: Athletic Association, Columbia's 150th Founding Anniversary Dinner, Columbia University Club, and the Department of Electrical Engineering.
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.
This collection is located onsite.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions 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.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Gustavus T. Kirby papers; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.
Additional materials related to Gustavus T. Kirby can be found in Historical Biographical Files (UA#0004), Historical Photograph Collection (UA#0003), Central Files (UA#0001) and Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education records, 1890-2015 (UA#0211).
No additions are expected.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
This collection was processed by Joanna Rios, November 2024.
Gustavus T. Kirby was a graduate of the Columbia School of Engineering (1895) and Law School (1898) and a most dedicated alumnus. As a student he pursued all sports: football, track and field, fencing and even intercollegiate bicycling. Sports and recreation were his passion. He served as president of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU); served on every U.S. Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1956, and even served as president of the United State Olympic Association in 1920; was one of the organizers of the Public Schools Athletic League of New York and a director and treasurer of the Playground Association of America. Kirby was the inventor of a camera timer, or "Kirby camera," which simultaneously photographed the finish line and added a time-stamp to each shot. The invention was first used in Olympic track events in 1932. Kirby received the Columbia University Alumni Medal in 1933 and was the winner of the Annual Alumni Award at the 1949 Homecoming Reunion.
The Columbia University Club's mission was "to promote social intercourse among its members" and "to further the interests of, and in general to uphold the influence of, Columbia University." The Club started in 1901, with the first meeting place in some rooms at the Royalton Apartment House, 47 West 43rd Street. From December 1901 to October 1903, its first club-house was located at 41 West 36th Street. When the membership outgrew that space, the club leased a home on 15 Madison Square, North, from October 1903 to Summer 1905. In 1905, the Club purchased a property at the southwest corner of Gramercy Park and Irving Place. According to Kirby, the Club welcomed "all graduates, from the oldest living to the most recent, whatever their class or creed or race, who, as members, will give part of their time, service or money for the support and advancement of Columbia University, or of the Columbia University Club."
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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