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A Register of the Albert J. and Roberta Wohlstetter Papers
97076
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Title: Albert J. and Roberta Wohlstetter Papers
Dates: 1929-2007
Collection number: 97076
Creator:
Wohlstetter, Albert J.
Creator:
Wohlstetter, Roberta.
Collection Size:
844 manuscript boxes, 5 card file boxes, 8 oversize boxes
342.8 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Contains speeches and writings, correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, studies, and printed matter; relating to American
military and national security policy, nuclear warfare strategic planning, and nuclear proliferation issues. Includes the
papers of Roberta Wohlstetter, wife of Albert J. Wohlstetter.
Physical location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research except for: Boxes 1-61, 201-354, 385-754, 815-821 and 838-857 which are closed
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives
[Identification of item], Albert J. and Roberta Wohlstetter papers, [Box no.], Hoover Institution Archives
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1997
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at
http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number
of boxes listed in this finding aid.
Albert J. Wohlstetter Biographical Note
| 1913 December 19 | Born in New York City |
| 1934 | B.A., College of the City of New York |
| 1934-1935 | Studied, Columbia University Law School |
| 1937 | M.A. in mathematical and symbolic logic from Columbia University, Graduate School of Philosophy |
| 1939 | Married Roberta Morgan |
| 1941-1942 | Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research |
| 1942-1943 | Consultant, Planning Committee, War Production Board |
| 1942-1945 | Factory Manager and Quality Control Manager, Atlas Aircraft Products Corporation |
| 1945-1946 | Director of Research, General Panel Corporation, New York |
| 1946-1947 | Program director, National Housing Agency, Washington, D.C. |
| 1947-1951 | Vice President, then President, General Panel Corporation, Burbank, California |
| 1951-1997 | Senior Analyst and Consultant, Rand Corporation, Economics Department |
| 1958 | Adviser to United States delegation, Geneva Conference on Surprise Attack |
| 1961-1967 | Consultant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, and thereafter consultant to the Department of Defense throughout his career |
| 1962 | Adviser to President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis |
| 1962-1964 | Ford Professor, Universities of California at Berkeley, and visiting professor at Los Angeles |
| 1964-1972 | Served as consultant to various corporations and institutions, including Research & Analysis Corp., Stanford Research Institute, General Electric, and the Northrop Corporation |
| 1964-1980 | University Professor, later University Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago |
| 1965 | Author (with Roberta Wohlstetter), Controlling the Risks in Cuba |
| 1965, 1976 | Awarded Medal for Distinguished Service, Department of Defense |
| 1969-1971 | Consultant to the National Security Council, Washington D.C. |
| 1970-1971 | Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford, England |
| 1970-1992 | Member, Executive Committee and Director, Strategy Group, California Seminar on Arms Control and Foreign Policy (also known as California Seminar on International Security and Foreign Policy) |
| 1971?-1997 | Member, Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel |
| 1974-1997 | Founding partner and Senior Consultant, PanHeuristics, affiliated with Science Applications Inc., and subsequently with RDA |
| 1975-? | President, European American Institute for Security Research (EAI) |
| 1975-1988? | Chairman, New Alternatives Workshop |
| 1979 | Author (with Roberta Wohlstetter), Swords from Plowshares: The Military Potential of Civilian Nuclear Energy |
| 1979-1992? | Vice President, Security Conference on Asia and Pacific (SECAP) |
| 198?-1997 | President, American Institute for Strategic Cooperation (AISC) |
| 1980-1997 | Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University |
| 1985 | Author, Between an Unfree World and None: Increasing Our Choices |
| 1985 November | Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter jointly awarded Medal of Freedom by President Reagan |
| 1985-1992 | Member, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) |
| 1986-1992 | Member, Defense Policy Board |
| 1986 | Appointed Co-Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Integrated Long-Term Strategy |
| 1990-1997 | Active in the affairs of the Balkan Institute |
| 1994 | Honorary Ph.D., City University of New York |
| 1997 January 10 | Died, Los Angeles, California |
Roberta Wohlstetter Biographical Note
| 1912 August 22 | Born, Duluth, Minnesota |
| 1930 Summer | Studied, Stanford University |
| 1931 Summer | Studied, Sorbonne, Paris |
| 1932 Summer | Studied, University of Heidelberg |
| 1933 | B.A., Vassar College |
| 1934-1935 | Studied, Columbia University Law School |
| 1936 | M.A. in psychology, Columbia University |
| 1937 | M.A. in comparative literature, Radcliffe College |
| 1937-1938 | Teaching assistant, University of Southern California |
| 1939 | Married Albert Wohlstetter |
| Early 1940s | Taught at Barnard College |
| Mid 1940s | Taught at Howard University Attended Washington School of Psychiatry |
| 1947-2002 | Consultant, Rand Corporation, Social Science Department |
| 1962 | Author, Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision |
| 1962 | Awarded the Bancroft Prize in Diplomatic History |
| 1963 | Named the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year |
| 1965 | Author (with Albert Wohlstetter), Controlling the Risks in Cuba |
| 1965-1968? | Taught at the University of Chicago |
| 1970-2007 | Member, Council on Foreign Relations (first woman to be invited to join) |
| 1970-1971 | Fellow, St. Hilda's College, Oxford, England |
| 1970-1992 | Member, California Seminar on Arms Control and Foreign Policy (also known as California Seminar on International Security and Foreign Policy) |
| 1979 | Author (with Albert Wohlstetter), Swords from Plowshares: The Military Potential of Civilian Nuclear Energy |
| 1979-1982 | Member, Defense Science Board |
| 1981-1985 | Member, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Advisory Board, Ad Hoc Task Force on Terrorism |
| 1982-1984 | Consultant, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) |
| 1985 November | Awarded (with Albert Wohlstetter) the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan |
| 1986-1989 | Consultant, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy |
| 1988-1998 | Consultant to the Director, Net Assessment |
| 1994-2007 | Served on Board of Advisors, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) |
| 1997 | Awarded the Defense Special Weapons Agency Lifetime Achievement Medal |
| 2007 January 6 | Died, Manhattan, New York |
Scope and Content of Collection
Contains speeches and writings, correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, studies, and printed matter; relating to American
military and national security policy, nuclear warfare strategic planning, and nuclear proliferation issues. Includes the
papers of Roberta Wohlstetter, wife of Albert J. Wohlstetter.
The collection is organized into ten series: Speeches and Writings, Roberta Wohlstetter File, Printed Matter, Photographs,
Microfilm, Videotapes, Maps, Memorabilia, Card File, and Oversize Materials.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in Stanford University's online catalog.
Nuclear weapons.
Security, International.
United States--Defenses.
United States--Military policy.