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Title: Norman Cousins papers
Date (inclusive): 1924-1994
Collection Number: 2019C24
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
22 manuscript boxes, 8 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 3 motion picture film reels, media
(16.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, writings, notes, printed matter, and audiovisual material, relating to journalism and to advocacy of peace,
disarmament and world federation.
Creator:
Cousins, Norman
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Boxes 30 and OCM6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of 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.
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2018.
[Identification of item], Norman Cousins Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives
| 1915 | Born in New Jersey |
| 1933 | Graduated from Columbia University Teachers College |
| 1934-1935 | Education Writer, New York Evening Post |
| 1935-1940 | Served as a book critic, literary editor, and managing editor of Current History magazine |
| 1940 | Joined the Saturday Review as executive editor |
| 1942-1971 | Editor-in-Chief, Saturday Review |
| 1952- | President, United World Federalists |
| 1943-1945 | Editor and member of editorial board of the United States Office of War Information |
| 1953 | Author, Who Speaks for Man? |
| 1957-1963 | Chairman and Founding Member, National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) |
| 1958 | Author, In God We Trust: The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers |
| 1960 | Author, Dr. Schweitzer of Lambaréné |
| 1967 | Author, Present Tense: An American Editor's Odyssey |
| 1971 | Awarded United Nations Peace Medal |
| 1972 | Founder and Editor, World |
| 1973-1977 | Returned to the offices of Saturday Review to run a new biweekly magazine, which was combined with World |
| 1978 | Chairman of the Board of Directors, Saturday Review |
| 1977- | Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, University of California, Los Angeles |
| 1979 | Author, Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived by the Patient |
| 1981 | Author, Human Options: An Autobiographical Notebook |
| 1983 | Author, The Healing Heart: Antidotes to Panic and Helplessness |
| 1985 | Author, Albert Schweitzer's Mission |
| 1987 | Author, The Pathology of Power |
| 1989 | Author, Head First: The Biology of Hope |
| 1990 | Died |
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Norman Cousins papers include correspondence, writings, notes, printed matter, and audiovisual material related to journalism
and to advocacy of peace, disarmament, and world federation.
Norman Cousins was a
Saturday Review editor-in-chief, peace advocate, and unofficial diplomat. During his tenure at the
Saturday Review, Cousins wrote passionately in support of peace and the need for nuclear disarmament. In addition to his editorial work,
Cousins was the president of the World Federalist Association, as well as chairman of the Committee for Sane Nuclear Policy.
His activism culminated in his nomination as the unofficial ambassador between the United States, the Soviet Union, and the
Holy See during the Kennedy Administration.
The papers document his work on behalf of peace. The collection includes
Correspondence with politicians, scientists, world leaders, and other significant figures of the twentieth century, including George Bush,
Jimmy Carter, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Albert Einstein, Gerald R. Ford, Indira Gandhi, Hubert H. Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson,
Helen Keller, John F. Kennedy, Jawaharlal Nehru, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Albert Schweitzer, Adlai E. Stevenson, Harry
S. Truman, and U. Thant.
The
Subject File includes a copy of the papal encyclical of Pope John XXVIII entitled Pacem in Terris, signed on the title page by Nikita
Khrushchev. The encyclical was a gift to Khrushchev from the pope, hand delivered by Norman Cousins in April 1963 during a
diplomatic mission. The file also includes a Russian fable inscribed by John F. Kennedy. In addition, documentation of the
sale of the
Saturday Review can be found in this file, as well as the first issue of World Magazine, which Cousins founded in 1972. Also included are
writings of Albert Schweitzer.
Cousins visited Albert Schweitzer at his hospital in Lambarene, Gabon, and wrote extensively about Schweitzer's life and mission.
The
Photographs include photographic prints of Schweitzer's journal, correspondence, and two manuscripts.
Researchers should note that a substantial amount of Norman Cousins material can be found in his collection at the University
of California, Los Angeles.
Norman Cousins Papers, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Peace
Disarmament
International organization
Journalists
Journalism -- United States