Register of the Edgar Jacob Fisher papers

Finding aid prepared by Samira Bozorgi
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2011
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Edgar Jacob Fisher papers
Date (inclusive): 1888-1933
Collection Number: 79037
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 3 manuscript boxes (1.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The collection relates to Robert College and other American schools in Turkey and elsewhere in the Near East, social and political conditions in Turkey, and ethnic minorities in Turkey. It consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, student essays, and printed matter.
Creator: Fisher, Edgar J. (Edgar Jacob), 1885-1968
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1979.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Edgar Jacob Fisher papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical Note

Edgar Jacob Fisher was born in 1885. He earned his PhD from Columbia University in 1911, where he authored New Jersey as a Royal Province, 1738 to 1766 (New York: Columbia University). As a proponent of international education, Fisher worked as a professor of social studies and dean of Robert College in Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1917 to 1933. In 1924, Fisher was briefly dismissed by the Turkish Minister of Education for allegedly speaking unfavorably about the government to a group of tourists, only to be rehired in 1925. In his time in Turkey, Fisher wrote a number of short articles that appeared in professional journals and The New York Times about the state of affairs during the first World War and international education. He also worked as the assistant director of the Institute of International Education. He died in 1968.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection relates to Robert College and other American schools in Turkey and elsewhere in the Near East, social and political conditions in Turkey, and ethnic minorities in Turkey. It consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, student essays, and printed matter.
Although mainly focused on events surrounding American schools in the Near East, the collection includes a number of clippings, professional journal articles, writings, and correspondence about Turkey's history, culture, and ethnic minorities, as well as the burgeoning Nationalist Movement, Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne, formation of the Republic, and Kemalist reforms; all of which appear in the Turkey subject file. Some of the folder titles used in this part of the collection are from the records' creator, hence archaic forms of place names.
In an effort to standardize curricula, secure funding, and encourage cooperation among the heads of American schools in the Near East, Fisher worked on the Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education in the Near East, the correspondence and reports of which appear in the Robert College file. Also included in this file is correspondence regarding Fisher's expulsion from Robert College by the Minister of Education, and student research papers on Turkey's ethnic minorities, including Bulgarians, Persians, Gypsies, Greeks, and Armenians.

Arrangement Statement

The collection is organized into 2 series: Turkey subject file and Robert College file

Related Collections

Edgar J. Fisher collection, Ohio State University Libraries
Edgar J. Fisher archive, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
Mary Mills Patrick papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Ernest W. Riggs papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Education -- Turkey
Minorities -- Turkey
Education -- Middle East
Robert College (Istanbul, Turkey)

 

Turkey subject file 1888-1933

Scope and Contents note

Clippings, correspondence, printed matter, and published and unpublished writings by others, arranged alphabetically by subject.
box 1, folder 1-2

General 1888-1924

box 1, folder 3

Angora (Ankara) 1921-1923

box 1, folder 4

Armistice of Mudros 1922

box 1, folder 5

Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal 1921-1923

box 1, folder 6

Constantinople (Istanbul) 1920-1922

box 1, folder 7

Constitution 1921

box 1, folder 8

Education, public and private 1923-1924

box 1, folder 9

Ethnic minorities 1919-1924

box 1, folder 10

Evictions and deportations, Harput 1921-1922

box 1, folder 11

Gallipoli Campaign circa 1916

box 1, folder 12

Goldstein, Adolph 1921-1922

box 1, folder 13

Government 1910-1924

box 1, folder 14

Harems 1890, 1930

box 1, folder 15

History 1890-1931

box 1, folder 16

Literature 1914

box 1, folder 17

Music and dance 1917, 1925

box 1, folder 18-19

Religion 1891-1923

box 1, folder 20-21

Smyrna (Izmir) 1922

box 1, folder 22

Treaties, general 1921-1922

box 1, folder 23

Treaty of Lausanne 1923-1924

box 1, folder 24

World War I 1914-1918

box 2, folder 1

World War I (contd.) undated

box 2, folder 2

Young Men's Christian Association of Constantinople 1921-1933

 

Robert College file 1917-1932

General Physical Description note: Boxes 2-3

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence, reports, charts, and other writings relating to Fisher's activities as dean of Robert College, professor of social studies, and participant in the Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education in the Near East. Also includes a group of essays written by students on Turkey's ethnic minorities. Maintained in original order, with correspondence arranged chronologically
 

Circulating correspondence 1923-1932

box 2, folder 3

1923

box 2, folder 4

1924-1926

box 2, folder 5

1927-1929

box 2, folder 6

1930-1932

 

Correspondence regarding expulsion 1924

box 2, folder 7

1924 July-August

box 2, folder 8-9

1924 September

box 2, folder 10

1924 October-November

box 2, folder 11

"A Brief Survey of the Development of Robert College Since the War," 1930 October

 

Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education in the Near East 1917-1921

 

Correspondence 1920-1921

 

1920

box 2, folder 12-14

March-July

box 2, folder 15

October-November

 

1921

box 2, folder 16

January

box 2, folder 17

April

box 2, folder 18

Report and research on American colleges in the Near East 1921 and undated

box 2, folder 19

Research on enrollment and budget at selected American universities 1920 June

box 2, folder 20

Chart of admission requirements for New York state colleges and universities 1917

box 2, folder 21

Charts prepared by Fisher 1920 June

Scope and Content note

Includes comparative analysis of American schools in the Near East, admission requirements and enrollment figures for different disciplines
box 2, folder 22

Expense account statements 1920 July

box 2, folder 23

Notes undated

 

Near East education questionnaire 1920-1921

box 3, folder 1

Revisions 1920-1921

box 3, folder 2

Correspondence 1920-1921

box 3, folder 3-9

Essays by students 1928-1931

Scope and Content note

Includes essays written on the topic of Turkey's ethnic minorities for an assignment titled "A Descriptive Sample of Human Society"