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Dorothy Thompson Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: [Summit record]
Date: 27 Feb 1992

Biographical History

Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961) was an American broadcast and print journalist, best known for her work as a foreign correspondent and her column "On the Record" that appeared in the New York Herald Tribune from 1936-1941. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1914, where she studied political science and economics, and became one of the few women news commentators on radio during the 1930s. An early and outspoken opponent of Adolf Hitler, she was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934. For a more detailed biography, see the Dorothy Thompson Papers at this repository.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Dorothy Thompson Collection consists of awards/citations, correspondence, photographs, printed material, and writings.

Awards and citations recognize Thompson's work for the War Department and with young people.

Correspondence is primarily personal in nature. The bulk is between Thompson and her first husband, Hungarian author Josef Bard. Spanning the end of their marriage (1922-1927), Thompson's romance with and subsequent marriage to Sinclair Lewis, and the rise of Thompson's career, the letters, although of a personal nature, also trace Thompson's journalistic activities through Europe, Russia, and the United States. Other letters include those to artist Eileen Agar (Bard's second wife) and suffragist leader Gertrude Tone, a friend of Thompson's. There is a also a single letter from Sinclair Lewis to Bard and an incoming letter from Ludwig Lewisohn to Bard and Thompson, and some correspondence with Thompson's college friends Ruth Hoople and Winifred ("Win") Hughes. Formats include letters, telegrams, and empty envelopes.

Photographs, most of which were taken during her marriage to Bard, are of Thompson alone or the two of them as a couple.

Printed material consist of books and clippings. The books are primarily history and economics, many of which have annotations, margin notes, etc. in a hand that appears to be Thompson's. Clippings consist of newspaper and magazine articles about Thompson, including obituaries and biographical sketches published on the occasion of her death.

Writings contains columns, articles, and essays by Thompson, some printed and others in manuscript/typescript form. The bulk of this series are typescripts of her "On the Record" colummns, as submitted to Bell Syndicate, and clippings of her articles for Ladies Home Journal. Topics include politics, economics, and current events.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this material.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

See also the Dorothy Thompson Papers .

Subject Headings

Persons

Bard, Josef, 1892-
Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951.
Thompson, Dorothy, 1893-1961.

Subjects

Journalists -- Family relationships.
Journalists -- United States.
Women authors, American.
Women journalists -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Books.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Negatives (photographs)
Notebooks.
Photographs.

Occupations

Authors.
Journalists.
Novelists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Dorothy Thompson Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Various sources, gift and purchase.

Table of Contents

Awards and citations

Correspondence

Photographs

Printed material

Writings

Inventory