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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Harley F. MacNair Papers 1935-1973

© 2009 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

MacNair, Harley F. Papers

Dates:

1935-1973

Size:

0.4 linear feet (4 folders)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Harley F. MacNair, professor of Far Eastern history. The Harley F. MacNair Papers mainly consist of correspondence with Donald Lach, but also include correspondence with other individuals as well as an offprint and some manuscript pages. The bulk of the correspondence took place between 1938 and 1947.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: MacNair, Harley F. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Harley Farnsworth MacNair was born on July 22, 1891 in Greenfield, Pennsylvania. He received a Ph.B (1912) and a Litt.D (1935) from the University of Redlands (1912), an A.M. from Columbia University (1916), and a Ph.D from the University of California (1922). His dissertation was published in 1924 as The Chinese Abroad: Their Position and Protection.

An authority on Far Eastern international relations, MacNair spent many years in China, both as a Christian missionary and as a professor. His first appointment was as an instructor at St. John’s University in Shanghai, China from 1912 to 1916. From 1916 until 1932 he was a professor of History and Government at St. John’s, including a stint as head of the department (1919-1932). In 1927 MacNair returned to the United States to serve as associate professor of Far Eastern Government and Diplomacy at the University of Washington, while retaining his position at St. John’s for several more years. In 1928 MacNair joined the faculty of the University of Chicago’s department of History. While at the University of Chicago, MacNair served as acting chair of the History department, and his official title was professor of Far Eastern History and Institutions.

MacNair works include Short Stories for Chinese Students (1919), Introduction to Western History for Chinese Students (1922, with Alice M. Atkinson), Modern Chinese History: Selected Readings (1923, editor), The Chinese Abroad: Their Position and Protection (1924), China’s New Nationalism and Other Essays (1925), Far Eastern International Relations (1928, with H.B. Morse), Modern Far Eastern History (1934), and Far Eastern International Relations in the Twentieth Century (1949, with Donald Lach). He was also one of those responsible for the creation of The Far Eastern Quarterly in 1941, and served as an active member of its advisory board.

MacNair married Florence Wheelock Ayscough (1875-1942), a native of Shanghai who also wrote on China, on September 7, 1935.

Harley Farnsworth MacNair died on June 22, 1947.

Scope Note

The Harley F. MacNair Papers mainly consist of correspondence with Donald Lach, but also include correspondence with other individuals as well as an offprint and some manuscript pages. The bulk of the correspondence took place between 1938 and 1947.

Donald Lach was professor in the History department of Elmira College, New York. He and MacNair collaborated on what would be MacNair’s last book, Far Eastern International Relations in the Twentieth Century (1949).

Related Resources

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Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Box 1   Folder 1

Harley MacNair to Donald Lach, 1938-1947

  • July 8, 1938
  • July 16, 1938
  • August 5, 1938
  • August 20, 1938
  • January 14, 1942
  • February 27, 1942
  • October 3, 1942
  • October 27, 1942
  • November 3, 1942
  • December 13, 1942
  • January 27, 1943
  • March 11, 1943
  • May 24, 1943
  • June 19, 1943
  • June 28, 1943
  • July 30, 1943
  • October 12, 1943
  • November 9, 1943
  • February 2, 1944
  • March 18, 1944
  • June 25, 1944
  • November 27, 1944
  • December 6, 1944
  • January 9, 1945
  • February 8, 1945
  • February 8, 1945
  • March 16, 1945
  • March 21, 1945
  • April 17, 1945
  • April 26, 1945
  • June 12, 1945
  • August 28, 1945
  • September 17, 1945
  • November 14, 1945
  • December 3, 1945
  • January 9, 1946
  • February 7, 1946
  • March 27, 1946
  • April 17, 1946
  • May 9, 1946
  • September 30, 1946
  • September 30, 1946
  • Wednesday A.M., October 23, 1946
  • October 28, 1946
  • January 10, 1947
  • March 5, 1947
  • Sunday morning, undated
  • Tuesday A.M., undated
  • undated
Box 1   Folder 2

Donald Lach to Harley MacNair, 1944-1947

  • October 21, 1944
  • December 2, 1944
  • December 12, 1944
  • January 9, 1945
  • January 9, 1945
  • January 14, 1945
  • February 6, 1945
  • February 22, 1945
  • March 13, 1945
  • April 12, 1945
  • May 5, 1945
  • May 10, 1945
  • November 7, 1945
  • December 14, 1945
  • December 14, 1945
  • February 25, 1946
  • March 13, 1946
  • April 10, 1946
  • May 6, 1946
  • September 9, 1946
  • November 26, 1946
  • December 18, 1946
  • January 14, 1947
  • February 27, 1947
  • May 13, 1947
  • September 30, 1947
Box 1   Folder 3

General Correspondence

  • T. P. Givens to Harley MacNair, September 11, 1935
  • MacNair to Paul H. Clyde, January 25, 1938
  • Kenneth Scott Latourette to MacNair, December 28, 1940
  • MacNair to William Sumner Appleton Pott, April 25, 1945
  • Edward M. Crane to MacNair, January 31, 1946
  • Donald Lach (?) to Edward M. Crane, March 9, 1947
  • Hazel MacNair Steiner to Donald Lach, July 18, 1947
  • Edward M. Crane to MacNair, March 1, 1948
  • Howard H. Moore to Donald Lach, March 30, 1948
  • Maurice T. Price to Donald Lach (with enclosure from the executors of MacNair’s estate), May 12, 1948
  • Kenneth P. Landon to Donald Lach, May 1, 1973
  • Donald Lach to Howard H. Moore, undated
Box 1   Folder 4

Miscellaneous

  • "The Mystery of the Far East," by Harley MacNair, offprint, 1944
  • "Harley as Teacher and Friend," 2 copies (1 manuscript, 1 typescript), with accompanying letter
  • 2 unidentified manuscript pages