The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Laird Bell Papers 1928-1965
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Bell, Laird. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1928-1965 |
| Size: | 19 linear feet (34 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Laird Bell, attorney and member of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. Bell practiced law in Chicago and was involved in a number of civic and corporate organizations. The collection contains documents from his service on the University of Chicago Board of Trustees as well as on several postwar economic projects of the U.S. government |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Bell, Laird. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Laird Bell was born in Winona, Minnesota in 1883. He received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1904 and a J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1907. Bell married Nathalie Fairbank in 1909 and settled in Winnetka, Illinois. He practiced law in Chicago after being admitted to the Illinois bar in 1907 and was a partner in the legal firm Bell, Boyd, Lloyd, Haddad & Burns after 1936. Bell served as president of the Winnetka Board of Education from 1919 to1923 as wells as president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations from 1937 to 1939. He chaired the Board of Trustees of Carleton College from 1943 to 1955 and the University of Chicago Board of Trustees from 1949 to 1953; he was a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers from 1948 to 1954 and President of the Harvard Alumni Association in 1946. Bell was chairman of the Board of Directors of the Weyerhauser Timber Company from 1947 to 1955. He chaired the Navy Price Adjustment Board in 1944 and served in the Military Government in occupied Germany in 1945. He was an alternate U.S. Delegate to the Tenth Assemby of the United Nations in 1955 and was a member of the United States Advisory Committee on Educational Exchange from 1955 to 1960.
Bell died in Evanston, Illinois in 1965 and was buried in Winona, Minnesota
The Laird Bell papers include a variety of documents pertaining to Bell’s service at the University of Chicago as well as on several government projects and agencies. Series I contains correspondence, memoranda, and reports regarding miscellaneous events and procedures at the University of Chicago between 1928 and 1953. These include various committee documents, information about anti-communist activism and controversy from the 1930s to 1950s (press clippings and pamphlets about this subject are also included), and legal documents redefining the longstanding affiliation between the University of Chicago and Rush Medical College. Series II contains documents from the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, including meeting minutes and correspondence. Series III contains correspondence from Bell’s service on Navy Price adjustment board and related Chicago Law Review articles on war contracts. Series IV contains correspondence from Bell’s participation in the Office of Military Government in U.S.-occupied Germany and related pamphlets on postwar economic policy. Series V contains correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, and reports from the Technical Assistance to Latin America program of the U.S. Government. Series VI includes correspondence, meetings minutes and reports from the U.S. Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange. Series VII include correspondence, meeting minutes, and reports from the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council, as well as documents from Bell’s 1934 trip to Germany on behalf of the Council. Series VIII contains oversize material, primarily press clippings from the 1930s and 1940s.
Series I: University of Chicago, General Matters |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1928 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Correspondence, 1930-1933 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Correspondence, 1934-1935 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1936 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Correspondence, 1935-1937 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Correspondence, 1937 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Correspondence, 1938 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Correspondence, 1939 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Correspondence, 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Correspondence, 1942-1944 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1945-1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | James Weber Linn Scholarship Fund, 1943 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Retirement plans, 1941-1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Alumni Committee, 1948 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Correspondence, 1947 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1948 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | The Council of the University Senate and Committee of the Council, Rules of Procedure, 1946 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Financial matters, 1947-1948 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Milton Mayer, 1947 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | John Murra, 1947 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | News clippings, 1947-1948 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Retirement plans, 1947 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Special Committee on Social Science, 1947-1948 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | G.A. Borgese, 1950-1951 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Correspondence, 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Correspondence, 1950-1951 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Donald John Jenkins Scholarship, 1949-1951 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Public Workers Union, 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | Correspondence, 1947 |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | Correspondence, 1948-1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Administration Building, correspondence, 1950 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Letter to trustees, June 24, 1952 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Administration Building, contributions, 1947 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Administration Building, receipts, 1947-1952 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, March, 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, April, 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, May, 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, June-December, 1949 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, 1950-1951 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Broyles Bills, correspondence and speeches, 1949-1951 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Broyles Bills, exhibits files, 1949 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | Broyles Bills, statement of professors, 1949 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | Broyles Bills, miscellaneous pamphlets and newsletters, 1950-1951, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Broyles Bills, miscellaneous papers and news clippings, 1948-1951, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Broyles Bills, miscellaneous papers and news clippings, 1949 and undated |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Broyles Bills, correspondence, 1951-1953 |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | National Council for American Education |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | "Reducators," National Council for American Education, 1949 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Broyles Bills, miscellaneous papers, 1951-1953, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Comptrollers’ reports, 1949 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Comptrollers’ reports, 1950 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Comptrollers’ reports, 1950-1951 |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | Comptrollers’ reports, 1952 |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | William T. Couch, information, 1950-1952 |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | William T. Couch, correspondence, 1950-1952 |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1942-1944 |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1937-1938 |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1938-1941 |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1942 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1943-1945 |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1946 |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1944 |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | Committee on Instruction and Research, 1947-1949, 1956 |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | Committee on Instruction and Research, report to Trustees |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Educational reorganization, formal memoranda, 1944 |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Educational reorganization, formal memoranda, 1944 |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Educational reorganization, trustee-faculty meeting, 1944 |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | Educational reorganization, miscellaneous, 1944 |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Committee on Inauguration, 1929 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | Law School, 1938-1953 |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Merger of funds, 1936-1937 |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | Merger of funds, correspondence, 1936-1938 |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | Opinions on indefinite tenure, 1933, 1942, 1943, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Rush Medical College, 1937 |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Rush Medical College, 1938-1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | Rush-Presbyterian-Illinois Agreement, 1940-1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Rush and University of Chicago legal suit, record of proceedings, 1940-1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | Rush and University legal suit, correspondence, 1940-1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
| Box 10 Folder 2 | Transcripts of testimony in Senate investigation hearing, 1935 |
Series II: University of Chicago, Board of Trustees |
| Box 10 Folder 3 | Laird Bell, Funds, 1951-1965 |
| Box 10 Folder 4 | Correspondence with Ben May, 1950 |
| Box 10 Folder 5 | Correspondence with Ben May, 1951 |
| Box 10 Folder 6 | Correspondence with Ben May, 1952-1954 |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | Board members’ correspondence, 1950-1952 |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Trustees meeting minutes, January 10 - April 11, 1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | Trustees meeting minutes, June 7 - August 8, 1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Trustees meeting minutes, September 6 - November 14, 1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 4 | Trustees meeting minutes, January 3 - March, 1964 |
| Box 11 Folder 5 | Trustees meeting minutes, April 9 - June 5, 1964 |
| Box 11 Folder 6 | Trustees meeting minutes, June 11 - November, 1965 |
| Box 11 Folder 7 | Trustees meeting minutes, 1965 |
| Box 12 Folder 1 | Budget Committee, meeting minutes, 1963-1964 |
| Box 12 Folder 2 | Business Administration Committee, meeting minutes, 1961-1962 |
| Box 12 Folder 3 | Encyclopedia Britannica, correspondence, 1951-1955 |
| Box 12 Folder 4 | Encyclopedia Britannica, correspondence, 1956-1959 |
| Box 12 Folder 5 | Encyclopedia Britannica, correspondence, 1960-1965 |
| Box 12 Folder 6 | Encyclopedia Britannica, memorandum, 1961 |
| Box 12 Folder 7 | Financial Campaign |
| Box 12 Folder 8 | Jenner Committee Hearing, correspondence, 1951-1954 |
| Box 12 Folder 9 | Jenner Committee Hearing, legislative investigation |
| Box 13 Folder 1 | Jenner Committee Hearing, stenographic transcripts, June 1953 |
| Box 13 Folder 2 | Correspondence with Lawrence A. Kimpton, 1951-1952 |
| Box 13 Folder 3 | Correspondence with Lawrence A. Kimpton, 1953-1960 |
| Box 13 Folder 4 | Lawrence A. Kimpton, miscellaneous, 1951 |
| Box 13 Folder 5 | Law School correspondence, 1950-1951 |
| Box 13 Folder 6 | Law School correspondence, 1952-1952 |
| Box 13 Folder 7 | Law School correspondence, 1955-1957 |
| Box 13 Folder 8 | Law School building fund, correspondence, 1960-1962 |
| Box 13 Folder 9 | Law School scholarship, correspondence, 1950-1959 |
| Box 13 Folder 10 | Law School scholarship, correspondence, 1958-1965 |
| Box 13 Folder 11 | Investment Committee, meeting minutes, 1963-1965 |
| Box 14 Folder 1 | Miscellaneous correspondence, 1950 |
| Box 14 Folder 2 | Miscellaneous correspondence, January - June, 1951 |
| Box 14 Folder 3 | Miscellaneous correspondence, July - December 1951 |
| Box 14 Folder 4 | Argonne National Laboratory, annual report, 1963 |
| Box 14 Folder 5 | Miscellaneous material on Bell’s desk at his death |
| Box 14 Folder 6 | Bird Haven |
| Box 14 Folder 7 | Bylaws |
| Box 14 Folder 8 | Correspondence, 1956-1958 |
| Box 15 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1959-1965 |
| Box 15 Folder 2 | Paul Harper Memorial, 1950-1953 |
| Box 15 Folder 3 | Miscellaneous, 1948-1949 |
| Box 15 Folder 4 | Will of Mary Shannon Roberts, 1953 |
| Box 15 Folder 5 | Zoller Fund, 1934-1952 |
| Box 15 Folder 6 | New Chancellor, 1960-1961 |
| Box 15 Folder 7 | Correspondence re Chancellor nominations, 1949-1958 |
| Box 15 Folder 8 | Correspondence re Visiting Committees, 1949-1960 |
| Box 16 Folder 1 | Visiting Committee, Greek Cultural Foundation, 1951-1952 |
| Box 16 Folder 2 | Visiting Committee, miscellaneous, 1951-1952, undated |
| Box 16 Folder 3 | Visiting Committee, Student Interests, 1952 |
| Box 16 Folder 4 | Visiting Committee to the Oriental Institute, 1951-1952 |
Series III: Navy Price Adjustment Board |
| Box 16 Folder 5 | University of Chicago Law Review, articles on war contracts, April 1944 |
| Box 16 Folder 6 | Correspondence, 1943 |
| Box 16 Folder 7 | Correspondence, 1944-1948 |
Series IV: Office of Military Government |
| Box 16 Folder 8 | Correspondence, 1945 |
| Box 16 Folder 9 | Correspondence, January-March, 1946 |
| Box 17 Folder 1 | Correspondence, April-December, 1946 |
| Box 17 Folder 2 | Correspondence, 1947-1952 |
| Box 17 Folder 3 | Pamphlets on postwar economic policy and planning, 1945-1946 |
Series V: Technical Assistance - Latin America (TALA) |
| Box 17 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1952-1953 |
| Box 17 Folder 5 | Correspondence, 1954 |
| Box 17 Folder 6 | Correspondence, 1955 |
| Box 18 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1955 |
| Box 18 Folder 2 | Correspondence, 1956 |
| Box 18 Folder 3 | Correspondence, 1957-1959 |
| Box 18 Folder 4 | Meetings and conferences, November 1953 |
| Box 18 Folder 5 | Meetings and conferences, May 1954 |
| Box 18 Folder 6 | Meetings and conferences, Turrialba, July 1954 |
| Box 18 Folder 7 | Meetings and conferences, November 1954 |
| Box 18 Folder 8 | Meetings and conferences, May 1954 |
| Box 18 Folder 9 | Meeting minutes, 1953-1955 |
| Box 19 Folder 1 | Policy Committee, 1953-1955 |
| Box 19 Folder 2 | Policy Committee, statement, 1952-1959, undated |
| Box 19 Folder 3 | Technical assistance, 1955-1956, undated |
Series VI: U.S. Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange |
| Box 19 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1955 |
| Box 19 Folder 5 | Correspondence, 1956 |
| Box 19 Folder 6 | Correspondence, 1957 |
| Box 19 Folder 7 | Correspondence, 1957 |
| Box 19 Folder 8 | Correspondence, 1958-1961 |
| Box 20 Folder 1 | Meeting minutes, May 1955 |
| Box 20 Folder 2 | Meeting minutes, September 1955 |
| Box 20 Folder 3 | Meeting minutes, December 1955 |
| Box 20 Folder 4 | Meeting minutes, April 1956 |
| Box 20 Folder 5 | Meeting minutes, July 1956 |
| Box 20 Folder 6 | Meeting minutes, October 1956 |
| Box 20 Folder 7 | Meeting minutes, January 1957 |
| Box 20 Folder 8 | Meeting minutes, May 1957 |
| Box 21 Folder 1 | Meeting minutes, September 1957 |
| Box 21 Folder 2 | Meeting minutes, December 1957 |
| Box 21 Folder 3 | Meeting minutes, February 1958 |
| Box 21 Folder 4 | Meeting minutes, July 1958 |
| Box 21 Folder 5 | Meeting minutes, December 1958 |
| Box 21 Folder 6 | Meeting minutes, March 1959 |
| Box 21 Folder 7 | Meeting minutes, June 1959 |
| Box 21 Folder 8 | Meeting minutes, October 1959 |
| Box 21 Folder 9 | Meeting minutes, February 1960 |
| Box 21 Folder 10 | Committee on minority housing problem, correspondence, 1955-1957 |
| Box 21 Folder 11 | Committee on minority housing problem, correspondence, 1958-1963 |
| Box 22 Folder 1 | Reports, 1948-1961 |
| Box 22 Folder 2 | Reports, 1948-1961 |
| Box 22 Folder 3 | Trip to Latin America, 1957 |
| Box 22 Folder 4 | Trip to Latin America, bills and cards, 1957 |
| Box 22 Folder 5 | Latin American Regional Conference on Educational Exchange, 1957 |
| Box 22 Folder 6 | Miscellaneous materials on international educational exchange, 1957, undated |
| Box 22 Folder 7 | Report on Latin America, 1957 |
Series VII: Foreign Bondholders Protective Council |
| Box 22 Folder 8 | General material, 1934-1935 |
| Box 22 Folder 9 | Correspondence 1933 |
| Box 23 Folder 1 | Correspondence, January-June, 1934 |
| Box 23 Folder 2 | Correspondence, June-July, 1934 |
| Box 23 Folder 3 | Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1934-1935 |
| Box 23 Folder 4 | Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1935 |
| Box 23 Folder 5 | Memoranda and financial statements, 1931-1934, undated |
| Box 23 Folder 6 | Speeches, 1934 and undated |
| Box 24 Folder 1 | Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1936-1937 |
| Box 24 Folder 2 | Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1938-1939 |
| Box 24 Folder 3 | Correspondence, 1940-1946 |
| Box 24 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1954-1956 |
| Box 24 Folder 5 | Correspondence, 1957-1965 |
| Box 25 Folder 1 | Correspondence re Barranquilla, 1938-1940 |
| Box 25 Folder 2 | Press releases, 1936-1937 |
| Box 25 Folder 3 | Annual report, 1934 |
| Box 25 Folder 4 | Annual report, 1935 |
| Box 26 Folder 1 | Annual report, 1936 |
| Box 26 Folder 2 | Annual report, 1937 |
| Box 27 Folder 1 | Annual report, 1938 |
| Box 27 Folder 2 | Annual report, 1939 |
| Box 27 Folder 3 | Annual report, 1940 |
| Box 27 Folder 4 | Annual reports, 1941-1944 |
| Box 28 Folder 1 | Annual report, 1945 |
| Box 28 Folder 2 | Annual reports, 1946-1949 |
| Box 28 Folder 3 | Annual report, 1950 |
| Box 28 Folder 4 | Annual reports, 1951-1952 |
| Box 28 Folder 5 | Annual reports, 1955-1957 |
| Box 29 Folder 1 | Annual reports, 1958-1961 |
| Box 29 Folder 2 | Annual reports, 1962-1964 |
| Box 29 Folder 3 | Dulles report on Berlin debt discussions, June 1933 |
| Box 29 Folder 4 | Dulles report on Berlin debt discussions, December 1933 |
| Box 29 Folder 5 | Berlin debt discussions, report of Laird Bell and John F. Dulles, February 1934 |
| Box 29 Folder 6 | Berlin dept discussions, report of Laird Bell and W.W. Cumberland, June 1934 |
| Box 29 Folder 7 | Bills and receipts, Germany, 1934 |
| Box 30 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1934 |
| Box 30 Folder 2 | Correspondence, 1934 |
| Box 30 Folder 3 | Correspondence, 1934-1937 |
| Box 30 Folder 4 | Meeting minutes, Germany, 1934 |
| Box 30 Folder 5 | Miscellaneous materials, Germany, 1934 |
| Box 30 Folder 6 | Official records, Germany, 1934 |
| Box 31 Folder 1 | Reports, Germany, 1934 |
| Box 31 Folder 2 | Meeting minutes, 1933-1935 |
| Box 31 Folder 3 | Meeting minutes, 1936 |
| Box 31 Folder 4 | Meeting minutes, 1940-1948 |
| Box 31 Folder 5 | Meeting minutes, 1960-1961 |
| Box 31 Folder 6 | Meeting minutes, 1962-1963 |
| Box 31 Folder 7 | Meeting minutes, 1964-1965 |
| Box 31 Folder 8 | Miscellaneous, 1932-1937, undated |
| Box 32 Folder 1 | Miscellaneous, 1933-1935, undated |
| Box 32 Folder 2 | Pamphlets, 1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 3 | Trip to Germany, financial accounts, 1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 4 | Trip to Germany, data, 1933-1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 5 | Incoming cables, Germany, April-June, 1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 6 | Trip to Germany, notes, 1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 7 | Outgoing cables, Germany, April-June, 1934 |
| Box 32 Folder 8 | Trip to Germany, reports, 1934 |
Series VIII: Oversize |
| Box 33 Folder 1 | Press clippings on Marshall Plan and European recovery, 1945-1948 |
| Box 33 Folder 2 | Press clippings and miscellaneous documents on war debts, 1935-1936 |
| Box 34 | Scrapbook of press clippings related to Foreign Bondholders Protective Council |