Access to our archival and manuscript collections is now available at:

The guide below is no longer being maintained and will soon be removed.

Guide to the Paul Nixon Papers, 1904-1956, undated

Summary Information

Title:

Paul Nixon papers

Creator:

Nixon, Paul

ID:

M140

Date [inclusive]:

1904-1956, undated

Extent:

2 Linear Feet

Repository:

George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011

Abstract:

Paul Nixon's correspondence, speeches, writings, including his Bowdoin College Chapel talks, Bowdoin Latin class materials and a journal of his travels in England and Europe, 1904-1906.

Using These Materials

Preferred Citation:

Paul Nixon Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.

Acknowledgment of non-neutrality:

The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, like all archives and special collections libraries, is the creation of human beings who have collected, organized, and described things in ways that reflect personal, cultural, societal, and institutional biases. Although we strive to preserve and present collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections, we acknowledge that our systems are neither neutral nor perfect. We encourage you to let us know if you encounter materials, descriptive language, or practices that are offensive or harmful, particularly those for which inadequate context or warning is offered. We are committed to modifying and updating our descriptive practices to use respectful and inclusive terminology and appreciate your help in this work. We look forward to supporting you in your research and learning together.

Biographical/Historical Note

Paul Nixon was born May 23, 1882, in Des Moines, Iowa, and prepared for college at Thayer Academy. In 1904 he was graduated from Wesleyan University, where he majored in classics. Nixon was selected as the first Rhodes Scholar from Connecticut (1904) and studied at Oxford University in England for three years. Before coming to Bowdoin College in 1909 he taught at Princeton University and Dartmouth College. From 1909-1952 Nixon taught classics, history and Latin at Bowdoin and was named Winkley Professor of Latin Language and Literature in 1946. He also served as dean at Bowdoin from 1918 until 1947. During this time he worked closely with the admissions program until the Admissions Office was established in 1935, and he was informal director of placement until the Placement Bureau was established in 1944. Nixon served in the military during World War I, first with the Maine National Guard and then with the United States Infantry. As dean at Bowdoin he corresponded with Bowdoin students and graduates serving in World War II (see Kenneth C.M. Sills Administrative Records for President Sills' and Dean Nixon's World War II correspondence). Nixon received many honorary degrees including a Doctor of Humane Letters from Bowdoin in 1943. In 1966 a room in Bowdoin's Hawthorne-Longfellow Library was dedicated in his memory. Nixon was the author of a number of books, most of them well known and widely used translations of Latin works. His translations of Plautus and Martial were especially popular.

Nixon married Dorothea Thompson on July 30, 1907. She died October 3, 1917. On July 7, 1919, he married Mathilde Spengler. Nixon died on October 27, 1956, at his home in Brunswick. He was survived by his wife, Mathilde, and his children, Philip and Katrina.

Scope and Content

The collection contains Nixon's speeches and writings, including his Bowdoin College Chapel talks, Bowdoin Latin class materials and a journal of his travels in England and Europe, 1904-1906. Also included are business and personal letters to and from Nixon; Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, Robert Peter Tristram Coffin, and Mary Ellen Chase are among the correspondents. Other materials include a signed typescript poem about Paul Nixon by Robert Peter Tristram Coffin.

Collection Inventory

Series Description:

This series contains addresses and Bowdoin College Chapel talks given by Nixon. Also included are a typescript journal of his travels in England and Europe as a young man, his Bowdoin College Latin class lecture notes, and published articles.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically.

Addresses, 1919-1937

box 1 folder 1

Addresses, 1940-1947

box 1 folder 2

Chapel talks, 1932-1933

box 1 folder 3

Chapel talks, 1934-1935

box 1 folder 4

Chapel talks, 1936

box 1 folder 5

Chapel talks, 1937

box 1 folder 6

Chapel talks, 1938

box 1 folder 7

Chapel talks, 1939

box 1 folder 8

Chapel talks, 1940

box 1 folder 9

Chapel talks, 1941

box 1 folder 10

Chapel talks, 1942

box 1 folder 11

Chapel talks, 1943 Jan-May

box 1 folder 12

Chapel talks, 1943 Aug-Dec

box 1 folder 13

Chapel talks, 1944

box 1 folder 14

Chapel talks, 1945

box 1 folder 15

Chapel talks, 1946-1950

box 1 folder 16

Chapel talks, miscellaneous notes

box 1 folder 17

Essay "Los Angeles or Thereabouts," manuscript w/marked newspaper clippings

box 1 folder 18

Journal typescript re: travel in England and Europe, 1904-1906

box 1 folder 19

Lecture notes for Bowdoin College Latin class

box 1 folder 20

Lecture notes for Bowdoin College Latin class

box 1 folder 21

Lecture notes for Bowdoin College Latin class

box 1 folder 22

Magazine articles, 1905-1906

box 1 folder 23

Magazine articles, 1908-1950

box 1 folder 24

Material for alumni talks

box 1 folder 25