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Patrick Balfour, Baron Kinross, Papers: Finding Aid
mssKIN 1-6443  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
This collection contains manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera of Scottish historian and writer Patrick Balfour (1904-1976), Lord Kinross, from his earliest columns as a journalist to his final major work, The Ottoman Centuries.
Background
John Patrick Douglas Balfour, Baron Kinross, was born June 25, 1904, in Edinburgh, Scotland; he inherited the title of 3rd Baron Kinross of Glasclune in 1939 upon the death of his father. He was educated at Winchester and Balliol Coll. Oxford (B.A. History 1925), and while at Oxford he became one of the “Bright Young People” along with Harold Acton, Evelyn Waugh, Cyril Connolly, Brian Howard and John Betjeman. Kinross began his writing career as a journalist on the editorial staffs of various newspapers and as the society gossip columnist, “Mr. Gossip.” He married Angela Mary Culme-Seymour in 1938 but the marriage ended in divorce in 1942. At the start of the war, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a squadron leader and worked in Intelligence, 1940-1944, he then served as Director, Publicity Section, British Embassy, Cairo, with rank of 1st Sec. H.M. Diplomatic Service 1944-47. It was while traveling and serving during the war Kinross began a life-long interest in the Middle East and, especially, Turkey.
Extent
6,550 items in 178 boxes
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Availability
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.