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Prentice N. Dean Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. 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
Prentice Northup Dean (1897-1981) was a practicing economist for the United States Tariff Commission and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He also held teaching positions at Princeton University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Buena Vista University.
Dean was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1897 to Harry Northup Dean and Adelle Dean née Prentice. He was a private in the United States Army in 1918. He received a BA in economics from Princeton University in 1920, and a MA from the American University in Beirut in 1923. He began, though never received a degree for, graduate work at Princeton University in 1923-1926. Dean later held positions at Princeton University, 1926-1927, and at the University of Pittsburgh, 1927-1934. On November 8, 1941 Dean married Carolyn Fretz. Together they had three children, Jonathan C. Dean, Martha Nancy Dean, and James Dean.
Dean began his government service with the United States Tariff Commission in 1934. In 1947, Dean attended his first GATT meeting as a delegate of the United States. He attended seven meetings, the last of which was in 1961. In 1948, he moved to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was employed as an international economist. By 1963 he was Chief of the Foreign Economic Policy Division of the Office of Foreign Economic Affairs, a branch of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. After his retirement in 1964, Dean returned to teaching at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. He held this position until the late 1970s, whereupon he moved to Columbus, Ohio. Dean remained in Columbus until his death in 1981.
Dean's papers document his service as United States delegate to the meetings of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and his years studying at the American University in Beirut, and include correspondence, diaries, documentation of conferences, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings. The papers also include the correspondence, diaries, and manuscripts of his family members May Dershimer née Walter and Martin R. Walter. The majority of these papers are of biographical relevance.
Please see the series descriptions in the contents list for additional information about individual series.
The Papers have been arranged in three series:
The following materials were consulted during the preparation of the biographical note: "Memorials," Princeton Alumni Weekly , 81 ( 20 July 1981): 24. Materials from Series 1: Dean, Prentice Northup Papers; Prentice N. Dean Papers; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
This collection was donated by Prentice N. Dean in April 1964.
This collection was processed by Christopher M. Shannon in 2006. Finding aid written by Christopher M. Shannon in March 2006.
Duplicate diaries and manuscripts have been separated from this collection.
People
Organization
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Christopher M. Shannon
- Finding Aid Date
- 2006
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from the Mudd Library to move forward with their use.
Collection Inventory
This series documents Dean's life at the American University in Beirut and his service as United States delegate to the meetings of GATT. It consists of certificates, documentation of conferences, correspondence, diaries, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, a photograph, and a résumé. The correspondence is primarily from his time as a student at the American University in Beirut.
Arranged alphabetically by document type. Correspondence is arranged in roughly chronological order.
Physical Description3 boxes
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4 folders
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This series contains the correspondence of Dean's great-aunt, May Dershimer, most of which is addressed to her brother, Martin R. Walter, or to an unidentified person named Flo. The correspondence covers daily life.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description2 boxes
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
This series contains the correspondence, diaries, and manuscripts of Dean's great-uncle, Martin R. Walter. The correspondence is to friends and family regarding daily life. The diaries also regard daily life. The manuscripts are about profanity, education, and country communities.
Arranged alphabetically by document type. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, then chronologically. The diaries are arranged chronologically. The manuscripts are all undated, and are arranged alphabetically.
Physical Description6 boxes
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