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Wohlstetter (Albert J. and Roberta) papers
97076  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternate Forms Available
  • Albert J. Wohlstetter Biographical Note
  • Roberta Wohlstetter Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content of Collection

  • Title: Albert J. and Roberta Wohlstetter papers
    Date (inclusive): 1929-2007
    Collection Number: 97076
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 847 manuscript boxes, 5 card file boxes, 8 oversize boxes (344 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Speeches and writings, correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, studies, and printed matter relating to American military and national security policy, nuclear warfare strategic planning, and nuclear proliferation issues. Includes the papers of Roberta Wohlstetter, wife of Albert J. Wohlstetter. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 
    Creator: Wohlstetter, Albert
    Creator: Wohlstetter, Roberta
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    Boxes 1-61, 201-354, 385-754, 815-821, and 838-859 closed. 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.

    Use

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

    Acquisition Information

    Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1997.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Albert J. and Roberta Wohlstetter papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternate Forms Available

    Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 

    Albert J. Wohlstetter Biographical Note

    1913 December 19 Born, New York City, New York
    1934 B.A., College of the City of New York
    1934-1935 Studied, Columbia University Law School
    1937 M.A. in mathematical and symbolic logic from Columbia University, Graduate School of Philosophy
    1939 Married Roberta Morgan
    1941-1942 Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
    1942-1943 Consultant, Planning Committee, War Production Board
    1942-1945 Factory Manager and Quality Control Manager, Atlas Aircraft Products Corporation
    1945-1946 Director of Research, General Panel Corporation, New York
    1946-1947 Program Director, National Housing Agency, Washington, D.C.
    1947-1951 Vice President, then President, General Panel Corporation, Burbank, California
    1951-1997 Senior Analyst and Consultant, Rand Corporation, Economics Department
    1958 Adviser to United States delegation, Geneva Conference on Surprise Attack
    1961-1967 Consultant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, and thereafter consultant to the Department of Defense throughout his career
    1962 Adviser to President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis
    1962-1964 Ford Professor, University of California at Berkeley, and visiting professor at University of California, Los Angeles
    1964-1972 Served as consultant to various corporations and institutions, including Research & Analysis Corp., Stanford Research Institute, General Electric, and the Northrop Corporation
    1964-1980 University Professor, later University Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago
    1965 Author (with Roberta Wohlstetter), Controlling the Risks in Cuba
    1965, 1976 Awarded Medal for Distinguished Service, Department of Defense
    1969-1971 Consultant to the National Security Council, Washington D.C.
    1970-1971 Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford, England
    1970-1992 Member, Executive Committee and Director, Strategy Group, California Seminar on Arms Control and Foreign Policy (also known as California Seminar on International Security and Foreign Policy)
    1971?-1997 Member, Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel
    1974-1997 Founding partner and Senior Consultant, PanHeuristics, affiliated with Science Applications Inc., and subsequently with RDA
    1975-? President, European American Institute for Security Research (EAI)
    1975-1988? Chairman, New Alternatives Workshop
    1979 Author (with Roberta Wohlstetter), Swords from Plowshares: The Military Potential of Civilian Nuclear Energy
    1979-1992? Vice President, Security Conference on Asia and Pacific (SECAP)
    198?-1997 President, American Institute for Strategic Cooperation (AISC)
    1980-1997 Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University
    1985 Author, Between an Unfree World and None: Increasing Our Choices
    1985 November Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter jointly awarded Medal of Freedom by President Reagan
    1985-1992 Member, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB)
    1986-1992 Member, Defense Policy Board
    1986 Appointed Co-Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Integrated Long-Term Strategy
    1990-1997 Active in the affairs of the Balkan Institute
    1994 Honorary Ph.D., City University of New York
    1997 January 10 Died, Los Angeles, California

    Roberta Wohlstetter Biographical Note

    1912 August 22 Born, Duluth, Minnesota
    1930 Summer Studied, Stanford University
    1931 Summer Studied, Sorbonne, Paris
    1932 Summer Studied, University of Heidelberg
    1933 B.A., Vassar College
    1934-1935 Studied, Columbia University Law School
    1936 M.A. in psychology, Columbia University
    1937 M.A. in comparative literature, Radcliffe College
    1937-1938 Teaching assistant, University of Southern California
    1939 Married Albert Wohlstetter
    Early 1940s Taught at Barnard College
    Mid 1940s Taught at Howard University
      Attended Washington School of Psychiatry
    1947-2002 Consultant, Rand Corporation, Social Science Department
    1962 Author, Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision
    1962 Awarded the Bancroft Prize in Diplomatic History
    1963 Named the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year
    1965 Author (with Albert Wohlstetter), Controlling the Risks in Cuba
    1965-1968? Taught at the University of Chicago
    1970-2007 Member, Council on Foreign Relations (first woman to be invited to join)
    1970-1971 Fellow, St. Hilda's College, Oxford, England
    1970-1992 Member, California Seminar on Arms Control and Foreign Policy (also known as California Seminar on International Security and Foreign Policy)
    1979 Author (with Albert Wohlstetter), Swords from Plowshares: The Military Potential of Civilian Nuclear Energy
    1979-1982 Member, Defense Science Board
    1981-1985 Member, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Advisory Board, Ad Hoc Task Force on Terrorism
    1982-1984 Consultant, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
    1985 November Awarded (with Albert Wohlstetter) the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan
    1986-1989 Consultant, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy
    1988-1998 Consultant to the Director, Net Assessment
    1994-2007 Served on Board of Advisors, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC)
    1997 Awarded the Defense Special Weapons Agency Lifetime Achievement Medal
    2007 January 6 Died, Manhattan, New York

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Speeches and writings, correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, studies, and printed matter relating to American military and national security policy, nuclear warfare strategic planning, and nuclear proliferation issues. Includes the papers of Roberta Wohlstetter, wife of Albert J. Wohlstetter.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Nuclear weapons
    United States -- Military policy
    United States -- Defenses
    Security, International