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Gibson (Hugh S.) papers
56000  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternate Forms Available
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Contents note
  • Separated Materials

  • Title: Hugh Gibson papers
    Date (inclusive): 1900-1983
    Collection Number: 56000
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 138 manuscript boxes, 27 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 22 envelopes, 1 phonorecord, 1 microfilm reel, memorabilia (92.6 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Diaries, writings, correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, photographs, and printed matter relating to American foreign relations, international disarmament, the League of Nations, and relief work in Europe during World Wars I and II. Diaries from 1918 also available on microfilm (1 reel). Food mission diaries of 1946 and 1947 are also available at http://www.hoover.org/library-archives/collections  or at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org/ 
    Creator: Gibson, Hugh, 1883-1954
    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 1956, with additional increments in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Hugh Gibson papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternate Forms Available

    Diaries from 1918 also available on microfilm (1 reel). Food mission diaries of 1946 and 1947 are also available at http://www.hoover.org/library-archives/collections  or at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org/ 

    Biographical Note

    1883 August 16 Born, Los Angeles, California
    circa 1898 Attended Los Angeles Military Academy
    circa 1900 Attended Pomona College
    1907 Graduated, École libre des sciences politiques, Paris
    1908 Took the Diplomatic Service Examination
    1908-1909 Secretary, American Legation, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
    1909-1910 Second Secretary, American Embassy, London
    1910 Private secretary to the Assistant Secretary of State, Washington
    1911 Clerk, Department of State, Washington
    1911-1913 Secretary, American Legation, Havana, Cuba
    1913 Observer, elections for Constituent Assembly of Santo Domingo
    1914-1916 Secretary, American Legation, Brussels; liaison between Herbert Hoover and the Belgian government for the Commission for Relief in Belgium
    1916 First Secretary, American Embassy, London
    1917 Attached to Belgian War Mission during visit to the U.S.
      Aide to Lord Balfour, British Minister of Foreign Affairs, during visit to the U.S.
      Author, A Journal from Our Legation in Belgium
      Assigned to State Department - War Missions
    1918 First Secretary, American Embassy, Paris; advisor to General Pershing
    1918-1919 Member, Interallied Mission to Countries of former Austro-Hungarian Empire
    1919-1924 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Poland (Warsaw)
    1922 Married Ynes Reyntiens, Brussels
    1924 Attended Temporary Mixed Commission for the Reduction of Armaments, League of Nations, Geneva; maintained as Ambassador-at-Large, League of Nations
    1924-1927 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Switzerland (Bern)
    1925 Vice-Chairman, American Delegation, Arms Traffic Conference, Geneva
    1926-1930 Chairman, American Delegation, Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference, Geneva
    1927 Chairman of American delegation and conference, Conference for the Further Limitation of Naval Armaments (also called Tripartite Naval Conference or the Three Power Conference), Geneva
      Delegate, Conference on Private Manufacture of Arms, Geneva
    1927-1933 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium and Envoy Extraordinary Minister Plenipotentiary to Luxemburg (Brussels)
    1928 Doctor of Diplomacy and Political Science, Universite Catholique de Louvain
    1929 Birth of son Michael Francis, Brussels
    1930 Delegate, London Naval Conference

    Doctor of Law, Universite Libre de Bruxelles
    1931 Observer, Conference of Experts for a Moratorium on Intergovernmental Debts (also called the London Conference or the International Conference of Ministers), London
      Doctor of Law, Yale University
    1932-1933 Acting Chairman, American Delegation, General Disarmament Conference, Geneva
    1933-1937 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
    1935 American Representative, Mediatory Group to end the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay; delegate, Chaco Peace Conference, Buenos Aires
    1937 Author, Rio
    1937-1938 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Luxemburg (Brussels)
    1938 Retired from foreign service
    1939 Vice-President, Belgian American Educational Foundation; Chairman, A.R.A. Association
      Author, Belgium: The Country and Its People
    1940 European representative for the National Committee on Food for Small Democracies
      Escaped from France during German occupation
    1940-1941 Director General for Europe of the Commission for Polish Relief and the Commission for Relief in Belgium
    1942 Author, The Problems of Lasting Peace (with Herbert Hoover)
    1944 Author, The Road to Foreign Policy
    1945 Author, The Basis of Lasting Peace (with Herbert Hoover)
    1946-1947 Member, Herbert Hoover Food Mission (Herbert Hoover, Chairman)
    1947 Member, Investigatory Committee for postwar German economic policies
    1950 Death of Ynes R. Gibson
    1952 Director, Provisional Intergovernmental Commission on Movements of Migrants from Europe (ICEM)
    1954 December 12 Died, Geneva, Switzerland

    Scope and Contents note

    The Hugh Gibson papers consist of diaries, writings, correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, photographs, and printed matter relating to American foreign relations, international disarmament, the League of Nations, and relief work in Europe during World Wars I and II. Gibson's diaries of 1918 are also available on microfilm, and his food mission diaries of 1946 and 1947 are available at http://www.hoover.org/library-archives/collections  or at http://digitalcollections.hoover.org/ 
    The first increment was acquired in 2013 (boxes 153-155) and is comprised of family correspondence and an address book. The bulk of the correspondence is letters sent to Ynes Gibson and maintains the original arrangement of the creator.
    The second increment (boxes 156-157) was acquired in 2014 and is comprised of correspondence, Ynes Gibson's diaries, photographs, and news clippings, speeches, and correspondence regarding Gibson's death.

    Separated Materials

    The following publications, newspapers, and pamphlets have been transferred to the Hoover Institution Library:
    List of items from the collection transferred to the Hoover Library:
    All bound publications of the League of Nations regarding various disarmament conferences
    Conference on the Limitation of Armament - Subcommittees, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922 Testament Politique du Cardinal Duc de Richelieu, Henri Desbordes, Amsterdam, 5th edition, 1696 Le Temps Present, nos. 1-36 (not inclusive), 1914-1915
    La Vie Universelle, no. 2
    La Petite Illustration, 1921 March 3 American Experiments in Disarmament and the London Conference of 1930, by William I. Hull, Committee on Peace and Service of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends, 12 p., 1929
    Cost of Armaments, by William H. Gardiner, Navy League of the United States, 8 p., 1930 January 7 The Covenant of the League of Nations with a Commentary thereon, London: Majesty's Stationery Office, 19 p., 1921
    Covenant of the League of Nations with Annex (French/English) Final Protocol of the Locarno Conference (and annexes), together with Treaties between France and Poland, and France and Czechoslovakia, London: Majesty's Stationery Office, 1925 Fleet (the British Empire and Foreign Countries), London: Majesty's Stationery Office, 95 p., 1929
    Investigation of Communist Propaganda, Report no. 2290, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., 1931 January 17 Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, Treaty between the United States of America and Other Powers, Treaty Series, no. 830, Washington, D.C., 37 p., 1931 London Naval Conference, speeches and press statements by members of the American delegation, State Department Publication, Washington, D.C., 67 p., 1930
    London Naval Treaty of 1930, State Department Publication, Washington, D.C., 23 p., 1930
    Memorandum ... of the Optional Clause of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, London: Majesty's Stationery Office, 13 p., 1929 Organisation et programme des cours, Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Paris, 141 p., 1906-1907
    Papers regarding the Limitation of Naval Armaments, London: Majesty's Stationery Office, 46 p., 1928 Parity in Naval Strength, by William H. Gardiner, Navy League of the United States, 12 p., 1930 January 11 Peace Treaty of Trianon, Society of Hungarian Lawyers, Budapest, 39 p., 1931 Photographic History of the Bolshevik Atrocities, 39 p., undated
    Records of the Conference for the Limitation of Naval Armament, presented by Mr. Hale, 70th Congress, 1st session, Sen. Doc. No. 55, Washington, D.C., 220 p., 1928
    Report of the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference and Draft Convention, State Department Publication, Washington, D.C., 102 p., 1931 Trade and Navies, by William H. Gardiner, Navy League of the United States, Washington, D.C., 11 p., 1930 January 9 The United States and the Other American Republics, Address by Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State, Washington, D.C., 18 p., 1931
    The Year's Major Factors in the Progress of Peace, Address by Charles E. Hughes, 71st Congress, 1st session, Senate Document no. 19, Washington, D.C., 11 p., 1929

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    United States -- Foreign relations -- Poland
    Poland -- Foreign relations -- United States
    World War, 1914-1918 -- Civilian relief
    Disarmament
    Diplomats -- United States
    International relief
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief
    Brazil -- Foreign relations -- United States
    United States -- Foreign relations -- Brazil
    Belgium -- Foreign relations -- United States
    United States -- Foreign relations -- Belgium
    Switzerland -- Foreign relations -- United States
    United States -- Foreign relations -- Switzerland
    Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
    League of Nations