Edwin Francis Gay papers, 1786-1973, bulk 1920-1946

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Summary

Creators:
Gay, Edwin F. (Edwin Francis), 1867-1946
Abstract:
A collection of personal and professional material related to Edwin Francis Gay's life and career as an American economist and historian.
Extent:
163.45 Linear Feet (206 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Edwin Francis Gay papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of 9,601 items from 1786 to 1973, which consists of professional and personal material related to Edwin Francis Gay's life and multifaceted career. The collection documents his career in the civil service, at Harvard University, the New York Evening Post, and the Huntington Library; there are also some papers related to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Subjects include European economic recovery after World War I; international economic relations after World War II; United States business; and Gay's voluminous research notes on European and American economic history. Also included are Gay's notes on the Temple family papers in the Stowe collection at the Huntington Library and correspondence and papers relative to Herbert Heaton's book Scholar in action : Edwin Francis Gay (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1952). The collection also includes business, family and personal correspondence, documents, genealogy, printed material, photographs, clippings, and ephemera. Also present is Woodrow Wilson telegram to Edwin Francis Gay, 1919 September 17 (GY 3292) in Box 124.

Biographical / historical:

Edwin Francis Gay (1867-1946) was an American economist and historian. Gay was born on October 27, 1867, the son of Aaron F. Gay and Mary (Loud) Gay. He graduated from the University of Michigan, and afterwards did graduate work in Germany and received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1902. In 1893, he married Louise FitzRandolph; the couple had two children: Edward Randolph Gay and Margaret Gay Davies. Gay was first affiliated with Harvard University from 1901 to 1919, first as assistant professor and then professor of economics. In 1908, he became the first the Dean of Harvard Business School. During World War I he served as director of the Division of Statistics of the United States Shipping Board, and the Imports Bureau of the War Trade Board; he was also a member of the War Industries Board. From 1919 to 1923 Gay was editor of the New York Evening Post. In addition to his other work, Gay co-founded the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Council of Foreign Relations. In 1924, he returned to Harvard University as Professor of Economic History. In 1936, he accepted a research position at the Huntington Library; in 1941 Gay was appointed Chairman of the Research Group and he remained in this position until his death in 1946.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Margaret Gay Davies, 1973.
Processing information:

Processed by Harriet McLune, 1988. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced description of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American Presidential Papers Project.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: 1. School notes; 2. Research and teaching; 3. Personal documents, tributes, and biographical materials; 4. Photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings; 5. Miscellaneous documents, tourist maps, guidebooks, and printed material; 5. Family correspondence; 6. Family documents and genealogy; 7. Professional and business correspondence.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Edwin Francis Gay papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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