Guide to the Harold Hitz Burton Papers, 1927-1965, undated
No restrictions.
Harold Hitz Burton Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
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Harold Hitz Burton (Bowdoin 1909) was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, on June 22, 1888. His father, Alfred Edgar Burton (Bowdoin 1878), Dean of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bowdoin Overseer (1905-1935), accompanied Robert E. Peary on several North Pole expeditions. His mother, Gertrude Hitz, was daughter of the first Swiss Consul General to the United States. Burton's older brother, Felix Arnold Burton (Bowdoin 1907), designed the Alpha Delta Phi House (1924) and the Class of 1907 Gateway at Bowdoin. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Burton practiced corporate law in Cleveland, Ohio, and elsewhere. He served as an Ohio State Legislator (1929); Mayor of Cleveland (1935-1940); U.S. Senator from Ohio (1941-1945); and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1945-1958). He taught for two years at Western Reserve University (1923-1925) and was a member of the Board of Overseers of Bowdoin College (1936-1964). In 1958 he was awarded the Bowdoin Prize. Burton married Selma Florence Smith in 1912. They had four children: Barbara, William (Bowdoin 1937), Deborah, and Robert (Bowdoin 1943). Harold Hitz Burton died of Parkinson's disease on October 28, 1964, in Washington, D.C.
The collection consists of professional correspondence; documents concerning judicial opinions, including memoranda, drafts, and printed opinions; speeches and notes; clippings; ephemera; and photographs. Notable correspondents include Thomas C. Clark, William O. Douglas, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Felix Frankfurter, Harry S. Truman and Earl Warren.
Organized into five series: Correspondence, 1933-1968, n.d.; Judicial Opinions, 1945-1957, n.d.; Speeches, 1927-1960, n.d.; Miscellaneous Material, 1918-1963, n.d.; and Photographs, 1943-1957, n.d.
Seventy-six volumes from Harold Hitz Burton's library are cataloged separately as part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives' rare book holdings.
This series contains official copies of professional correspondence from Burton's tenure as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio; U.S. Senator; and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Correspondents include Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Lyndon B. Johnson, Harry S. Truman, and the Supreme Court of Justice in Quito, Ecuador.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
1933 - 1968
n.d.
This series contains copies of judicial opinions written by Burton, including several drafts with edits to language and content. Some are fragments. Also included is a conference list from 1945.
Arranged alphabetically.
No restrictions.
Alphabetical list, summaries
Allen v. DuPont, et.al. (No. 1009-Jan. 1948)
Ballard v. U.S. (No. 37-Dec. 1946)
Bridges v. U.S. (No. 548-1953)
Bute v. Illinois (No. 398-Oct. term, 1947)
California v. Zook (No. 355-1949)
Conference list for week of Oct. 1, 1945
Dartmouth College case
District of Columbia v. Little (No. 302 - Oct. term, 1949)
Donaldson v. Read Magazine, Inc., et.al. (No. 50-Oct. term, 1947)
In the Matter of Durant (No. 19, Sept. 6, 1946)
F.P.C. v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (No. 28-Oct. term, 1953)
Garner v. Bd. of Public Works of Los Angeles (No. 453-Oct. term, 1950)
Haley v. Ohio (No. 51-Oct. term, 1947)
Henderson v. U.S., et.al. (No. 25, Oct. term, 1949)
Levinson v. Spector Motor Service (No. 22 Oct. term, 1946)
Lichter v. U.S.; Pownall et. al. v. U.S.; Alexander Wool Co. v. U.S. (Nos. 105, 74, and 95-Oct. term, 1947)
Louisiana v. Resweber, et.al. (No. 142-Oct. term, 1946)
McCollum v. Board of Education (No. 90-1948)
Markham v. Cabell (No. 76-Oct. term, 1945)
Misc. drafts of opinions (complete and fragments)
Misc. memoranda and correspondence (1947-1960)
Myers v. Reading Co. (No. 367-Oct. term, 1946)
N.L.R.B. v. Lion Oil Co. (No. 241)
Order of United Commercial Travelers of America v. Wolfe (No. 32-Oct. term, 1946)
Pyramid Motor Freight Corp.v. Ispass (No. 41-Oct. term, 1946)
Rodgers v. U.S. (No. 58-Oct. term, 1947)
Roland Electrical Co. v. Walling (No. 45-1946?)
Rosenberg v. U.S. (Oct. term, 1952)
Spiegel v. I.R.S.; I.R.S. v. Church (Nos. 52 and 96-Oct. term, 1947)
Taylor v. Alabama (No. 721-Oct. term, 1947)
U.S. v. Carmack (No. 40-Oct. term, 1946)
U.S. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemourg and Co. (No. 3-1957)
U.S. v. Kansas City Life Insurance Co. (No. 1-1950)
U.S. v. Line Material Co., et.al. (No. 8-Oct. term, 1947)
U.S. v. National Lead Co. (No. 89-Oct. term, 1946)
U.S. v. Penn. Foundry and Mfg. Co. (No. 253-1949)
U.S. v. Yellow Cab Co.; Capital Transit Co. v. U.S. (Nos. 218 and 204-Oct. term, 1950)
Von Moltke v. Gilles (No. 73-Oct. term, 1947)
This series contains speeches given at public events and ceremonies, such as Armistice Day and V-E Day; and political speeches, including his mayorial inaugural address, Republican endorsements, and interviews. The speeches were given throughout his career as Ohio state legislator, mayor of Cleveland, U.S. Senator from Ohio, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
1927 - 1944 Jan
1944 Mar - 1960
n.d. [1931 - 1940]
n.d. [1941 - 1945]
n.d. [1941 - 1945]
n.d. [1941 - 1945]
n.d. [1941 - 1945]
n.d. [1941 - 1945]
n.d. [1945 - ]
This series includes newspaper clippings; ephemera; invitations and programs, mainly to official events; a memo on and draft of "The Proposed Rule to Govern Condemnation Cases in District Courts," and other miscellaneous material. Also included are elecrostatic copies of some of the Burton materials at the Library of Congress.
Arranged alphabetically.
No restrictions.
Awards:
1937: Int'l Brotherhood of Firemen, Oilers, and Helpers - Honorary Life Membership
1947: American Hospital Association - Honorary Member
1953: American Legion 13th District Council
1953: Fenn College
1953: University of Toledo
1956: American Hospital Association - 10th Anniversary of Hill-Burton Act
1958: Bowdoin Prize
1958: Salvation Army
1959: YWCA Cleveland
1964: American Institute of Architects
1964: Cleveland Men's Club
1965: Greater Cleveland Veteran's Council Citation
Burton materials at the Library of Congress [no copying permitted]:
Certificates, Correspondence, etc. [electrostatic copies]
Vol. 1 [electrostatic copies]
Vol. 2 [electrostatic copies]
Vol. 3 [electrostatic copies]
Vol. 4 [electrostatic copies]
Vol. 5 [electrostatic copies]
Clippings
Ephemera
Invitations and programs, 1943-1963
Invitations and programs, n.d.
Manuscript notes
Memo on and draft of the "Proposed Rule to Govern Condemnation Cases in the District Courts"
Miscellaneous
Presidential nomination and appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court
Printed materials
Statuette: Ivory elephant presented to Justice Burton
This series contains signed photographs of the Supreme Court justices for the years Burton was an associate justice, as well as signed photographs of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, and several other photographs of judges and their wives.
Arranged alphabetically
No restrictions.
Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes (signed); Supreme Court, 1943
Chief Justice Stone
Chief Justice Vinson
Chief Justice Warren (signed)
Judge Learned Hand (signed)
Justice C.J. Fuller (with accompanying letter)
Pres. Eisenhower (with accompanying clippings), Supreme Court, 1943
Pres. Truman (signed); Pres. Eisenhower
Supreme Court, 1946 (signed)
Supreme Court, 1949 (signed)
Supreme Court, 1953 (signed)
Supreme Court, 1955 (signed)
Supreme Court, 1956 (signed)
Supreme Court, 1957 (signed)
Wives of the Supreme Court (photograph and a published copy)