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John C. Whitehead papers

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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

John C. Whitehead was born April 2, 1922, in Evanston, IL. His family moved to Montclair, NJ when he was 2. There, he was involved in his local church choir and the Boy Scouts. After graduating from Montclair High School, Whitehead attended Haverford College. While at Haverford, Whitehead participated in athletics, glee club, and wrote for the student newspaper; he also served as class president and president of the student government. He graduated in 1943 as part of an accelerated course to enable students to participate in the war effort. During World War II, Whitehead served in the US Navy, where he learned accounting and participated in the invasions of Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

After World War II, Whitehead enrolled at Harvard Business School. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1947 as a junior statistician and was promoted to partner nine years later. He became Co-Chairman and Senior Partner in 1976, a position he held until his retirement in 1984. At Goldman, Whitehead helped to set up a business department, and drafted business principles still in use at the company.

In 1985, Whitehead became US Deputy Secretary of State under George Schultz, a position he held until 1989. After his return to New York, he devoted his time to non-profit organizations, including the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the United Nations Association, the Brookings Institution, the National Gallery of Art and the International Rescue Committee. From 1995 to 2000 he served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

New York Governor George Pataki asked Whitehead to chair the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Corporation was in charge of efforts to rebuild and revitalize the former World Trade Center site. Whitehead held this position until 2006.

Whitehead was a member of Haverford's Board of Managers for more than 30 years, and served as its chair from 1972 to 1982. He also served on the Haverford Corporation, and was deeply involved with the College in many ways. He helped to establish the Whitehead Fund for Faculty Development and the John Whitehead Professorship in the Humanities. The Whitehead Internship Program, which provides funds for students to get experience with finance and entrepreneurship, the Whitehead Campus Center, and the Whitehead Circle, which honors those who have given more than $1 million to Haverford, are all named in his honor. Whitehead died February 7, 2015.

Sources: Douglas Martin. "John C. Whitehead, Who Led Effort to Rebuild After 9/11, Dies at 92. New York Times. February 7, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/nyregion/john-c-whitehead-a-leader-in-finance-and-government-dies-at-92.html "John C. Whitehead '43, 1922-2015" Haverford College. February 6, 2015. https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/john-c-whitehead-43-1922-2015 Memorandum to All Goldman Sachs Employees on John C. Whitehead. February 8, 2015. http://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/press-releases/current/memorandum-on-whitehead.html

The John C. Whitehead papers include papers from his time before college, while a student at Haverford College, and reflective of his involvement with Haverford in his later life. It also includes visual materials, diplomas, realia, and miscellaneous materials.

The pre-college papers include class materials such as papers, speeches, and notebooks, as well as his senior yearbook and two issues of his high school newspaper. The Haverford student materials include papers written for classes; these are mostly related to economics, Whitehead's major. There are programs, certificates, and club materials from throughout Whitehead's time at Haverford, including graduations, the Triangle Society, and athletic events. The majority of this section is correspondence, most of which is written to Whitehead's parents. These letters record his daily life on campus, including laundry, time spent on class work, extra-curricular activities and club commitments, and thanks for the cookies and other treats his mother sends.

Whitehead continued his involvement with Haverford College after his graduation. He was very involved with the class of 1943, corresponding with other members and attending numerous reunions; materials from these are found in the collection. Also included are materials about events in which Whitehead participated, including the opening of the Whitehead Campus Center, the unveiling of the Whitehead portrait, and several events about Haverford and World War II. The correspondence in this section shows Whitehead's relationship with several Haverford presidents and advancement officers, and his continued deep involvement in College matters after his term as Chair of the Board of Managers. There is also material about specific issues he was involved in, including the set-up of the Whitehead Circle for major donors, the Whitehead professorship, and his honorary degree. There are also clippings and articles about Whitehead and Haverford. The collection also includes a small amount of materials about cricket at Haverford, and some materials reflecting Whitehead's participation in the Haverford Corporation.

Visual materials include photographs of Whitehead and his family, both from Haverford and beyond, and of the New Jersey Devils hockey team, as well as drawings of Haverford College by Nan Park. There are also materials which document Whitehead as an art collector, including catalogs for auctions in which he may have participated, the catalog of his collection, and catalogs of the Christie's sales at which much of his artwork was sold. Several pieces of artwork were removed to the College Art Collection.

Miscellaneous materials include small amounts of materials related to Whitehead's involvement with the boy scouts and his time in the Navy during World War II. It also includes commemorative WWII stamps, commemorative drawings and poems given to Whitehead, certificates, Christmas cards from the George W. Bush Whitehouse, and "The Times of Your Life" with New York Times articles from Whitehead's life. Diplomas include those from high school, Haverford, and honorary degrees from Haverford College and Amherst College. The Realia section includes a number of awards given to Whitehead by Haverford College.

The collection is arranged partly chronologically, around Whitehead's time at Haverford, and partly by type of materials.

Processed by Sarah Horowitz, completed March 2018

Publisher
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Finding Aid Date
March, 2018
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Law Applies (U.S. Title 17)

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. Papers, speeches, and poems.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. High school notebook.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Grades and report cards.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. High school newspaper.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Montclaire High School Yearbook, 1939.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Miscellaneous, 1939.
Box 1

Archival Resource Key. Class papers.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Class papers.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Grades and transcripts.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Programs, certificates, club materials.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Correspondence, 1939-1940.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Correspondence, 1941-1942.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Non-family correspondence.
Box 2

Archival Resource Key. Correspondence with the class of 1943.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. 50th reunion, 1993.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. 50th reunion yearbook, 1993.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. 55th reunion, 1998.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. 60th reunion, 2003.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. 70th reunion, 2013.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Interim reunions, 1991-2011.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Portrait unveiling.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Whitehead Campus Center Opening.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Haverford and World War II.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Miscellaneous.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Correspondence with students.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Correspondence, 1997-2009.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Correspondence, 2010-2015.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Global Dialogue Institute.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Whitehead professor.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Whitehead circle.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Haverford honorary degree.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Haverford Corporation.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Publications featuring Whitehead.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Clippings.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Cricket.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Miscellaneous.
Box 3

Archival Resource Key. Grade school.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. General.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup photos.
Box 7
Archival Resource Key. Drawings of Haverford by Nan Park.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Eight important paintings, Christie's catalog, 1981.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Paul Mellon collection, Christie's catalog, 1983.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Impressionists and Modern works, Christie's catalog, 1994.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Modigliana, Musee d'art Moderne.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Catalog of the Whitehead Collection.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Christie's day sale (Whitehead collection), 2015.
Box 5
Archival Resource Key. Christie's evening sale (Whitehead collection), 2015.
Box 5
Archival Resource Key. The John C. Whitehead Collection.
Box 5

Archival Resource Key. Boy Scout materials.
Box 5
Archival Resource Key. Navy materials.
Box 5
Archival Resource Key. Vanity Fair article about Whitehead.
Box 5
Archival Resource Key. 1942-1943 commemorative stamps.
Box 6
Archival Resource Key. 1944-1945 commemorative stamps.
Box 6
Archival Resource Key. Saturday Evening Post article by Felix Morley, 1943.
Box 7
Archival Resource Key. Birthday drawing.
Box 7
Archival Resource Key. Agnes Bradley commemorative poem.
Box 7
Archival Resource Key. Certificate.
Box 7
Archival Resource Key. Haverford certificates.
Box 10
Archival Resource Key. White House Christmas cards.
Box 10
Archival Resource Key. "The Times of Your Life".
Box 10
Archival Resource Key. Diplomas.
Box 9

Archival Resource Key. KB Theta medal.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Haverford 5th Annual Interscholastic Indoor Meet Horizontal Bar 3rd Place Trophy.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Engraved boot scrub.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Collection of pins.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Haverford award for exemplary community service.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Whitehead Circle paperweight.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Haverford plaque, 1995.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Haverford Payton award for voluntary services.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Leaf in glass from Haverford, 1995.
Box 8
Archival Resource Key. Key/doorplate in recognition of contributions to the restoration of Founders Hall.
Box 8

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