Title: Charles F. Darlington papers

Date (inclusive): 1924-1985

Collection Number: 86032

Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives

Language of Material: English

Physical Description: 11 manuscript boxes (4.6 Linear Feet)

Abstract: Memoirs, speeches and writings, correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, and photographs relating to American-Gabonese relations, the organizing conference of the United Nations, American foreign trade policy, international currency exchange activities of the League of Nations, the oil industry in the Middle East, and Democratic Party politics, especially during the 1956 and 1960 presidential elections.

Creator: United Nations Conference on International Organization (Location of meeting: San Francisco, Calif. Date of meeting or treaty signing: 1945.)

Creator: Darlington, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1904-1986

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

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.

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

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1986.

[Identification of item], Charles F. Darlington papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Charles Francis Darlington was an American businessman, diplomat, and economist who held several notable positions throughout his career. After graduating from Harvard in 1926, he served as a gold expert and currency specialist in the economic and financial section of the League of Nations from 1928 to 1931, followed by a position as financial advisor with the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. In 1935, Darlington returned to the U.S. and became assistant chief of the Division of Trade Agreements under Secretary of State Cordell Hull. He also served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy during the Second World War. From May to June,1945, Darlington was secretary of the Steering, Executive, and Coordination Committee of the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations, where he helped draft the organization's charter. He stands as one of only a handful of Americans to be involved with both the United Nations and the League of Nations. In 1945, Darlington left his job with the government for a brief post with the General Motors Corporation, followed by a position with the Socony Vacuum (now Exxon Mobil) Oil Corporation, the latter of which involved negotiating contracts for the oil industry in the Middle East. By 1956, Darlington had reduced his time working overseas with Mobil to become involved with the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Darlington's political involvement through Westchester included an unsuccessful bid for Bedford County Supervisor in 1956, as well as positions on numerous election committees in New York for both Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy in the 1956 and 1960 presidential elections, respectively. Darlington was also a published author and wrote a number of articles for the New York Times in addition to drafts of speeches for both Stevenson and Kennedy. In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Darlington U.S. Ambassador to Gabon, where he served until his retirement from the State Department in 1965. Darlington's experiences in Gabon, as well as his account of the 1964 coup d'etat against President Leon Mba, were published in a book co-authored with his wife, Alice, African Betrayal (1968).

The Charles F. Darlington papers contain photographs, speeches and writings, correspondence, memoranda, and printed matter relating to American-Gabonese relations, the organizing conference of the United Nations, American foreign trade policy, international currency exchange activities of the League of Nations, the oil industry in the Middle East, and Democratic Party politics, especially the 1956 and 1960 presidential elections. Notable persons featured in the correspondence include: Eleanor Roosevelt, Adlai E. Stevenson, Walter Lippmann, Dean Acheson, John F. Kennedy, Albert Schweitzer, and Leon Mba. The collection is notable not only for its scope and content, but also for the existing organizational structure provided by Darlington. All series, organizational hierarchies, and folders maintain their original order and titles when possible. Handwritten notes by Darlington found in various folders also detail the scope of the material and his assessment of its historical value.