Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Provenance
Biographical note
Scope and Contents
Arrangement note
Title: Robert Oaks Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1908-2001
Date (bulk): 1976-1990
Collection Identifier: GLC 56
Creator:
Oaks, Robert F., 1942-
Physical Description:
2.0 boxes
(1 cubic ft.)
Contributing Institution:
James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English, with one article in French.
Abstract: Robert F. Oaks is a historian with a primary interest in Colonial America and the American Revolution. In the late 1970s he
developed an interest in gay history, too. The collection contains letters from gay historians, research notes for articles
on homosexuality in 17th and 18th century America, photocopies of relevant articles by other historians, and some general
material related to gay causes in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Languages represented: Collections materials are in English, with one article in French.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright and literary rights for Oaks's published and unpublished works are retained by Robert Oaks.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Roberts Oaks Papers (GLC 56), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
Donated by Robert Oaks, August 2004.
Biographical note
Robert Francis Oaks is a fifth generation Californian, born in Escondido in 1942. After receiving a B.A. from Stanford and
a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, he taught for a few years, primarily in Texas. With a specialty in Colonial
America and the American Revolution, in the late 1970s he developed an interest in gay history.
He published several articles in professional historical journals and was a weekly cast member of a gay radio show in Dallas.
He had frequent correspondence with prominent gay historians around the country and interviewed prominent gay activists.
A depressed job market prevented Oaks from achieving a tenured faculty position, so in 1978, he moved to San Francisco and
soon changed careers to data processing and banking. At the beginning of 1992, he retired and now devotes much of his time
to historical research and writing, though his interests now are primarily the histories of San Francisco and Hawai'i. Since
retirement he has published articles on 19th century San Francisco in historical journals and a book on the history of the
Big Island of Hawai'i.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains letters from gay historians, research notes for articles on homosexuality in 17th and 18th century
America, photocopies of relevant articles of other historians, and some general material related to gay causes in the late
1970s and early 1980s. Correspondents include Jonathan Katz, Lou Crompton, and Sal Licata.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged into three series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Subject Files and Ephemera; and Series 3.
Publications.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Crompton, Louis, 1925-2009
Katz, Jonathan, 1938-
Licata, Salvatore J.
Oaks, Robert F., 1942- -- Archives
Gay men--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States
Homosexuality--History
Homosexuality--Law and legislation--United States
Sex and Law--United States--History
Sex crimes--United States--History
Sodomy--United States--History