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George Atcheson papers, 1917-2004 (bulk 1937-1948).
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Collection Overview

Title:

George Atcheson papers, 1917-2004 (bulk 1937-1948)
George Atcheson, Jr. papers

Creator/Contributor:

Atcheson, George, 1896-1947, creator

Creator/Contributor:

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Higashikuni, Shigeko, 1925-1961, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Byrnes, James F. (James Francis), 1882-1972, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Banning, George Hugh, 1895-, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Swanson, Claude Augustus, 1862-1939, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

McFarland, Ernest W., correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

Colegrove, Kenneth W. (Kenneth Wallace), 1886-1975, correspondent.

Creator/Contributor:

United States, Department of State.

Creator/Contributor:

United States, War Department.

Creator/Contributor:

United States, Department of the Navy.

Abstract:

His account of the bombing of the U.S.S. Panay in China by the Japanese in December 1937 and related papers, including copies of statements of witnesses, U.S. Department of State letters and telegrams, and naval despatches, etc.; letters written by him to his family, May 1943-Aug. 1944, while chargé d'affaires in Chungking, China; typescripts of two unpublished novels set in China.
Correspondence, certificates of recognition, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. Includes official correspondence from numerous dignitaries and politicians in the United States, Japan, and Britain. Correspondents include President Harry S. Truman, Dean Acheson, James F. Byrnes, and Princess Shigeko of Japan. Certificates for merit and promotions signed by President Harry S. Truman. Newspaper clippings (some in Japanese with accompanying English translations) of achievements and accounts of the plane crash in which he died. Also includes personal correspondence to wife (formerly Marquita de Laguna) and son George III. Includes a typescript of unpublished story by Anthony Moore [pseudonym?] addressed from Atcheson to George Hugh Banning [editor?] with typewritten editorial critiques inserted in relevant pages. Also includes a typescript biographical account of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, draft of a press statement on the Allied occupation of Japan, and a statement by the Secretary of State to the Foreign relations committee. Also includes typescripts of memorial poems and songs of tribute to Atcheson composed after his death.

Date:

1917 (issued)

Subject:

n-us--- -- a-cc--- -- a-ja---
Diplomats -- United States
Ambassadors -- United States
World War, 1939-1945
Diplomates -- États-Unis
Ambassadeurs -- États-Unis
Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945
Ambassadors
Diplomatic relations
Diplomats
Japan -- History -- Allied occupation, 1945-1952
United States -- Foreign relations -- China
United States -- Foreign relations -- Japan
China -- Foreign relations -- United States
Japan -- Foreign relations -- United States
Japon -- Histoire -- 1945-1952 (Occupation alliée)
États-Unis -- Relations extérieures -- Chine
Chine -- Relations extérieures -- États-Unis
Japon -- Relations extérieures -- États-Unis
China
Japan
United States
United States. -- Foreign Service.
Panay (Gunboat : PR-5)
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
Panay (Gunboat : PR-5)
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
United States. -- Foreign Service
Atcheson, George -- 1896-1947 -- Archives
Truman, Harry S -- 1884-1972 -- Correspondence
Hull, Cordell -- 1871-1955 -- Correspondence
Swanson, Claude Augustus -- 1862-1939 -- Correspondence
Byrnes, James F. (James Francis) -- 1882-1972 -- Correspondence
Acheson, Dean -- 1893-1971 -- Correspondence
Higashikuni, Shigeko -- 1925-1961 -- Correspondence
Banning, George Hugh -- 1895- -- Correspondence
McFarland, Ernest W -- Correspondence
Colegrove, Kenneth W. (Kenneth Wallace) -- 1886-1975 -- Correspondence
MacArthur, Douglas -- 1880-1964
Acheson, Dean -- 1893-1971
Atcheson, George -- 1896-1947
Byrnes, James F. (James Francis) -- 1882-1972
Colegrove, Kenneth W. (Kenneth Wallace) -- 1886-1975
Higashikuni, Shigeko -- 1925-1961
Hull, Cordell -- 1871-1955
MacArthur, Douglas -- 1880-1964
Swanson, Claude Augustus -- 1862-1939
Truman, Harry S -- 1884-1972

Note:

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.
Box 1: Also available on microfilm with call number BANC FILM 3293.
Additions: Gift of; George Atcheson, III; 20100526.
Additions: Gift of; Claire Atcheson; 20140325.
Photographs and objects transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 1977.123).
Denver-born George Atcheson, Jr. entered the State Department as a student interpreter at the Peiping Legation and specialized in Far Eastern affairs. As second secretary of the Nanking Embassy, he was aboard the gunboat Panay when it was bombed and sunk by the Japanese in 1937. Two years later he was recalled to Washington for a stint on State's Far Eastern desk and returned to China as embassy counselor in Chungking in 1943. A career diplomat, he served in a variety of capacities before and after the Allied occupation of Japan including being the political advisor to General Douglas MacArthur, the President of the Allied Council for Japan, and United States minister to Siam. On June 8, 1946 he was given the personal rank of ambassador by President Harry S. Truman. He died in a plane crash off Hawaii on August 17, 1947 while on a trip to Washington, D.C to confer with State Department officials.
In English and Japanese.
Preferred citation: George Atcheson papers, BANC MSS 77/48 z, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Type:

manuscripts for publication.
Archives.
History.
Personal correspondence.

Physical Description:

print
2 boxes (0.8 linear feet)
1 microfilm reel : negative and positive.

Language:

English
Japanese
Japanese

Origin:

California

Related Item:

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.