William Henry Wilson (1935-     ) Papers (KC0046)

William Henry Wilson was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on November 3, 1935.  He received his B.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri in 1957, and continued at the University to receive his M.A. (1958) and Ph.D. (1962) in United States History.  From 1958-1960 Wilson was an instructor at the University of Missouri.  From 1960-1962 he was a Resident Associate of the Kansas City History Project which was jointly funded by Community Studies, Inc. and the Rockefeller Foundation.  The topic of his dissertation, “The City Beautiful Movement in Kansas City, 1872-1914,” was also his area of concentration for the Kansas City History Project.

After the completion of his dissertation, Wilson became an Assistant Professor of History at the University of South Dakota (1962-1963).  From 1963-1967 Wilson taught at the University of Alaska, advancing from Assistant to Associate Professor.  During 1967-1968 he was the recipient of a Fellowship for Younger Scholars from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 1968 he moved to North Texas State University where he is currently Professor of History.  His research has centered on urban history and Alaska history.

The collection contains correspondence for 1960-1963.  While the bulk of the material consists of personal incoming and outgoing correspondence, it also includes specific information relating to Wilson’s work on the Kansas City History Project, the City Beautiful Movement, proposals for a history of the J.C. Nichols Company, and progress on his dissertation.  The papers also include correspondence with Richard S. Kirkendall, who was Wilson’s principal advisor for his dissertation, and A.  Theodore Brown, his Kansas City History Project supervisor.  The 1998 addition consists of his research notecards and early printed material related to the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company. 1960-1963.

For related material see:  Andrew Theodore Brown (1923-1983) Collection (KC0011), Patricia Youmans Wagner Papers (KC0037), Charles Nelson Glaab (1927-    ) Papers (KC0038), and Lyle Wesley Dorsett (1938-    ) Papers (KC0039).

2 cubic feet.

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