Edwin C. Wilson Papers

Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2011
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu


Descriptive Summary

Languages: English
Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Edwin C. Wilson Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0734
Physical Description: 1.7 Linear feet (2 archives boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 map case folder)
Date (inclusive): 1907-1974 (bulk 1929-1948)
Abstract: Papers of Edwin C. Wilson, (1893-1972), American diplomat, served as U.S. Minister to Uruguay from 1939-1941, U.S. Ambassador to Panama from 1941-1943 and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey from 1945-1948. Materials include correspondence, writings, photographs, U.S. State Department documents and ephemera.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Edwin C. Wilson Papers contain biographical materials, photographs, official documents, reports and correspondence relating to his work as a U.S. diplomat.
Arranged in three series: I) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, and 3) SUBJECT FILES.
SERIES 1: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS series dates from 1907-1972 and consists of documents, newspaper clippings, and official certificates. Also in this series are several photographs of Wilson, his family and an album, presented to Wilson in 1946, which contains hand drawn maps and mounted photos of Turkish art and archaeological sites, subjects Wilson was passionate about preserving during and after his ambassadorship. A file of ephemera containing memorabilia from some of Wilson's official engagements is also included.
SERIES 2: CORRESPONDENCE
The CORRESPONDENCE series, arranged chronologically, contains letters from 1907-1974. This series consists primarily of official Department of State correspondence to Edwin C. Wilson. Included are many of his letters of promotion and appointment, as well as correspondence relating to his diplomatic services in Uruguay, Panama, France and Turkey. Some personal correspondence is also included.
SERIES 3: SUBJECT FILES
The SUBJECT FILES series dates from 1929 to 1948. The bulk of this series are documents relating to Wilson's work as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and include confidential U.S. State Department memorandum, documents on the subjects of the defense of the Turkish Straits, Soviet and British policy on Turkey, Turkey's position during World War II, agreements and treaties with the Allies, and U.S. aid to Turkey. This series also includes materials relating to the Hague Conference (1929-1930), documents in both French and English on the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, and a few documents, in Spanish and English on Panama and the 1939 Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics.

Biographical

Edwin C. Wilson was born in 1893 in Palatka, Florida. In 1920, Wilson began his extensive diplomatic career by joining the foreign services. Throughout the span of his career, he held such positions as First Secretary of the Embassy in Paris (1926-1930), observer for the U.S. at the International Congress of Reparations and Rhineland Evacuation held at the Hague (1929-1930), Chief of the Division of Latin American Affairs at the Department of State in Washington (1931-1935), U.S. Minister to Uruguay (1939-1941), U.S. Ambassador to Panama (1941-1943), and Representative of the U.S. to the French Committee of National Liberation and post of Counselor of American Embassy in Paris (1943-1944). As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's diplomatic representative in Algiers, Wilson worked with General Charles de Gaulle on plans for a provisional government in France.
In 1945, President Roosevelt appointed Wilson as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, and in 1947, President Harry S. Truman named Wilson chief of the U.S. mission to supervise aid to Turkey where he administered $100 million dollars of U.S. aid under the Truman Doctrine. Wilson resigned as ambassador due to health in 1948 and died on September 10, 1972 in Washington, D.C.

Acquisition Information

Acquired 2010.

Preferred Citation

Edwin C. Wilson Papers, MSS 734. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Diplomats -- United States
Ambassadors -- United States
Wilson, Edwin C. -- Archives

 

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

Box 1, Folder 1, Oversize MC-10-06

Miscellaneous 1914-1972

Box 1, Folder 2

Writings 1946

 

Photographs

Box 1, Folder 3

Edwin C. Wilson, family 1940-1944

Box 1, Folder 4

Turkey 1946

Box 1, Folder 4, Oversize FB-508-01

Album with photographs of Turkey 1946

Box 1, Folder 5

Ephemera 1921-1930

 

CORRESPONDENCE

Box 1, Folder 6

1907-1936

Box 1, Folder 7

1938-1943

Box 1, Folder 8

1944

Box 1, Folder 9

1945-1948

Box 1, Folder 10

1961-1974

 

SUBJECT FILES

Box 1, Folder 11

Miscellaneous materials 1929-1943

Box 1, Folder 12

Panama 1939

 

Turkey

Box 1, Folder 13

1943-1944

Box 2, Folder 1

1945-1946

Box 2, Folder 2

1947

Box 2, Folder 3

1948

Box 2, Folder 4

Undated