There are no restrictions on this collection.
This collection is located off-site. 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 collections consists of John Purroy Mitchel's (Columbia College 1899) college papers, notebooks, essays and exam books. There are also penmanship handbook and exercise books.
Series I: John Purroy Mitchel papers, 1870s-1900s
This series includes John Purroy Mitchel's notebooks, essays and exams books. It includes work done before and after Mitchel attended Columbia. There are also some penmanship manuals and some teacher notebooks which belonged to Mary Purroy, Mitchel's mother.
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.
There are no restrictions on this collection.
This collection is located off-site. 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.
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); John Purroy Mitchel papers, box and folder number; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.
Additional Mitchel materials can be found in the Historical biographical files (UA#0004), including information about the his life but also about the campus memorial and his legacy. You can also find the William Brown Meloney collection of John Mitchel and John Purroy Mitchel materials, 1830-1942 and materials related to Mitchel and the Fusion Committee of 1909 in the Joseph M. Price papers, 1909-1943. There is also an oral history with Bertram de N. Cruger, Mitchel's executive secretary, from 1950. Additional John Purroy Mitchel papers are available at the Library of Congress. His mayoralty papers (Mayor John P. Mitchel records) are available at the Municipal Archives and Records Center, New York City.
No additions are expected.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
This collection was processed by Joanna Rios in December 2021.
2021-12-10 Content list published (JR)
John Purroy Mitchel graduated from Columbia College with the Class of 1899. After graduation, Mitchel went to law school at NYU. He is perhaps best remembered as the "Boy Mayor," since he was elected Mayor of New York (1914-1917) at the age of 34. He died shortly after his mayoral term during a WWI military training flight with the Air Service in Louisiana on July 6, 1918. A gift of the Class of 1899, the John Purroy Mitchel memorial plaque was unveiled in 1921 on the west side of Hamilton Hall.