Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
E. Wilson and Carolyn Bartel Lyon papers
H.Mss.0493
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: E. Wilson and Carolyn Bartel Lyon papers
Dates: 1824-1991 and undated
Bulk Dates: 1930-1980
Collection number: H.Mss.0493
Creator:
Lyon, Carolyn Bartel, 1908-2006
Creator:
Lyon, E. Wilson (Elijah Wilson), 1904-1989
Extent:
49 linear feet
(27 records boxes; 13 document boxes; 3 slim document boxes; 7 pamphlet boxes; 7 flat boxes; 1 textile box)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711.
Abstract: The collection consists of the papers of E. (Elijah) Wilson Lyon (1904-1989) and his wife, Carolyn Bartel Lyon (1908-2006).
E. Wilson Lyon was appointed the sixth President of Pomona College in Claremont, California, in 1941 and led the college for
almost three decades - the longest serving president in the college’s history - retiring in 1969. E. Wilson Lyon’s papers
consist of files from his scholarly and administrative work, extensive file material bearing on his scholarly interests in
history and in higher education, as well as the raw material from his book research and publishing, most notably from his
History of Pomona College 1887-1969. Mrs. Lyon’s papers prominently feature a broken run of personal diaries from 1952-1988.
This collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
[Identification of item], E. Wilson and Carolyn Bartel Lyon papers (H.Mss.0493). Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library,
Claremont University Consortium.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Most of the collection was gifted by Carolyn Bartel Lyon and Elizabeth Lyon Webb in 1992. Previous gifts were received in
1986 and 1987 from E. Wilson Lyon. Additions to the collection were made in 1993, 1999 and 2009 by the Lyon family.
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
The collection was minimally processed by Special Collections staff. File folders were left in their original order and transferred
from non-archival to archival boxes. Photographs were sleeved in mylar and kept in their original folders. Textiles were removed
from non-archival boxes, cataloged, and placed into tissue-lined archival textile boxes. Oversized items were placed into
appropriate file folders and a large flat archival storage box.
E. Wilson Lyon
Born on June 6, 1904, in Heidelberg, Mississippi, E. (Elijah) Wilson Lyon at first planned to be a journalist. But the love
of history soon took over. Lyon went to the University of Mississippi, where his outstanding record and his tenure as senior
class president and editor of the college newspaper, helped him win a Rhodes Scholarship to St. John's College at Oxford.
After returning to the United States, he began his career in the world of academics, first as an assistant professor of history
at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute and then at Colgate University, where he was named head of the history department in 1934.
In 1941, he was named Pomona College’s sixth president and would go on to serve for 28 years, still the longest presidency
in the history of the college. Credited with developing Pomona College into a leading liberal arts institution, he saw the
school's endowment rise from $3.5 million to more than $22 million and the student body swell from 790 to 1,200. Nine dormitories
and academic buildings were added to the campus, including the highly regarded Seaver Science Complex and the Oldenborg Center,
a residential hall for students studying foreign languages and international relations.
After retiring in 1969, Lyon returned once again to history, writing more history books and speaking at major colleges throughout
the country. Lyon also spent the first eight years of his retirement dedicated to writing the College's history, a remarkable
achievement that can be found in The History of Pomona College, 1887-1967.
E. Wilson Lyon died on March 3, 1989.
Sources: Arnold, Roxane (1989 March 05). E.W. Lyon, 84; Ex-President of Pomona College. Retrieved from
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-05/news/mn-509_1_pomona-college
1941: Leadership, President E. Wilson Lyon. Retrieved from
http://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1940s/1941.aspx .
Carolyn Bartel Lyon
Born on March 28, 1908, in Richmond, Indiana, she entered nearby Earlham College at the age of 16 and transferred two years
later to Wellesley College, where she graduated in 1928. After earning a master's degree in history from the University of
Chicago in 1930, she stayed on at the University to work as an editorial assistant at the Journal of Modern History. While
there, she met E. Wilson Lyon, and they were married in 1933.
After their marriage, she accompanied her husband to Hamilton, N.Y., where he was a professor of history at Colgate University.
During those years, she gave birth to their two children, Elizabeth in 1936 and John three years later. In September 1941,
the family moved to Claremont, Calif., where Wilson Lyon became president of Pomona College.
An active member of the Claremont United Church of Christ for almost 65 years, she served at various times as a member of
the church’s Education, Building, Music and Library committees. From 1958 to 1964, she served as alumnae trustee at Wellesley
College. Awarded an honorary degree by Pomona College in 1974, she remained active with the College for many years, serving
as honorary co-chair of the Campaign for Pomona College which was completed in 2002. She lived in San Antonio Gardens from
1989 until the year 2000 when she moved to New York.
Carolyn Bartel Lyon died on August 4, 2006.
Source: Peters, Cynthia (2006 September 21). Carolyn Bartel Lyon Memorial Service Set for Sept. 30, 2006. Retrieved from
http://www.pomona.edu/news/2006/09/21-Carolyn-Bartel-Lyon-Memorial.aspx .
| 1904 | Born, Heidelberg, Mississippi |
| 1925 | BA, University of Mississippi |
| 1927 | BA (Rhodes scholar), Oxford University, England |
| 1928 | B. Litt. (Rhodes scholar), Oxford University, England |
| 1928-1929 | Assistant professor, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, Ruston, Louisiana |
| 1929-1941 | From assistant professor to professor of history, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York |
| 1932 | Ph.D., University of Chicago, Illinois |
| 1933 | Married Carolyn Bartel Lyon, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1934 | Author, Louisiana in French Diplomacy (1759-1804) |
| 1936 | Daughter, Elizabeth was born |
| 1937 | Grantee, Social Science Research Council |
| 1939 | Son, John was born |
| 1941-1969 | President, Pomona College, Claremont, California |
| 1942 | Author, The Man Who Sold Louisiana, the Life of François Barbé-Marbois |
| 1943-1944 | President, Western College Association |
| 1943-1946 | Board editor, Journal of Modern History |
| 1945 | LL.D., Colgate University, Hamilton, New York |
| 1947 | D.Litt., Occidental College, Los Angeles, California |
| 1951-1952 | Member, California Special Crime Study Commission on Organized Crime |
| 1955 | L.H.D., Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut |
| 1956-1962 | Board editor, The American Oxonian |
| 1957-1958 | Chairman, Commission on college students, American Council for Education |
| 1957-1960 | Member, National Commission on Accrediting |
| 1958 | LL.D., University of California, Los Angeles |
| 1960-1961 | Chairman, Commission on language and area centers |
| 1960-1963 | Member, Commission on federal relations |
| 1960-1966 | Member, Pacific Regional Committee for Marshall scholarships |
| 1962-1968 | Member, Overseas liaison committee |
| 1964 | Decorated honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
| 1966 | LL.D., Grinnell College, Iowa |
| 1967 | LL.D., Claremont Men's College, California |
| 1967 | LL.D., College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho |
| 1967 | Recipient Alumni medal, University of Chicago, Illinos |
| 1968 | D.Litt., University of Redlands, California |
| 1968 | L.H.D., Claremont Graduate School, California |
| 1968 | American Academy Achievement award |
| 1968-1971 | Trustee, Latin American scholarship program of American University |
| 1968-1983 | Trustee, John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation |
| 1969-1985 | Trustee, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California |
| 1969-1989 | President emeritus, Pomona College, Claremont, California |
| 1974 | L.H.D., Hamilton College, Clinton, New York |
| 1974 | L.H.D., Pomona College, Claremont, California |
| 1975 | Named to Hall of Fame, University of Mississippi |
| 1977 | Author, The History of Pomona College (1887-1969) |
| 1977 | Editor, The History of Louisiana by François Barbé-Marbois |
| 1989 | Died, Claremont, California |
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The collection consists of the papers of E. Wilson Lyon and his wife, Carolyn Bartel Lyon.
The bulk of E. Wilson Lyon’s papers consists of raw material (clippings, research notes, minutes, etc.) for his scholarly
and administrative work through copies of speeches, to correspondence. Some material is of particular interest to the history
of Pomona College including a substantial amount of ephemeral materials pertaining to Pomona College, the Claremont Colleges,
and to some extent, Claremont. Included are copies of brochures, leaflets, etc. from World War I and before, early years for
the Colleges and community. There is extensive file material bearing on Lyon’s scholarly interests in history and in higher
education. The raw material of Lyon’s books is also included – from note cards and reading notes through handwritten drafts
and successive typed drafts and onto galleys. Awards, honorary degrees and other certificates of achievement as well as memorabilia
in the form of photo albums, scrapbooks can also be found in the collection. Lastly, a variety of commencement hoods and a
Pomona College banner are part of the collection.
Carolyn Bartel Lyon’s papers consists of a broken run of diaries covering 1952-1988 as well as file materials covering the
1940s-1980s, work on another women’s college in Claremont, committee work, research on China, correspondence, speeches and
sermons as well as information on the Bartel family and Earlham College.
This collection has been arranged in the following series and subseries:
- Series 1: E. Wilson Lyon papers, 1824-1991 and undated
- Subseries 1.1: Awards and honors, 1921-1978 and undated
- Subseries 1.2: History of Pomona College, 1894-1977 and undated
- Subseries 1.3: Memorabilia, 1945-1980
- Subseries 1.4: Papers, 1824-1991 and undated
- Subseries 1.5: Textiles, undated
- Series 2: Carolyn Bartel Lyon papers, 1940-1989 and undated
- Subseries 2.1: Diaries, 1952-1988
- Subseries 2.2: Papers, 1940-1989 and undated
The following monographs will be accessible in the library's online catalog, using the keyword search term "Lyon Papers."
France: a study of French education and guide to the academic placement of students from France in educational institutions
in the U.S.A., prepared by Beatrice F. Hyslop. Placement recommendations by the Council on Evaluation of Foreign Student Credentials,
meeting March 1-2, 1962
. Committee on Foreign Students, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1964.
French education: Why Jeannot can read. New Haven: Yale French Studies, 1958.
La Documentation Francaise: L'Organisation de L'Enseignement en France (undated).
Publications of the Louisiana Historical Society, Series Two, Volume II (1975).
Quattrocchi, Angelo and Tom Nairn.
The beginning of the end: France, May 1968. London: Panther, 1968.
The Virginia Quarterly Review, Volume 44, No. 3 (Summer 1968).
E. Wilson Lyon Collection (MUM01726), University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University,
MS 38677, USA.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library’s online public access catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Barbé-Marbois, François, marquis de, 1745-1837
Educators -- United States
France--History
John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
Louisiana--History
Pomona College (Claremont, Calif.)
Pomona College (Claremont, Calif.) -- Presidents
Pomona College (Claremont, Calif.)--History
Presidents' papers
Rhodes scholarships
Travel
Trustees
University of Oxford
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Manuscripts
Photographs
Speeches, addresses, etc.