Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Elsa Knight Thompson papers,
- Dates:
- 1935-1987
- Creators:
- Thompson, Elsa Knight
- Abstract:
- Consists of personal papers documenting the broadcasting career of Elsa Knight Thompson from World War II through the 1970s. Contains family and personal correspondence, business files, legal files related to litigation with KPFA including transcripts, a draft autobiography, calendars, photographs, and ephemera.
- Extent:
- Number of containers: 1 box, 8 cartons, 1 oversize box Linear feet: 13.3
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Elsa Knight Thompson papers. BANC MSS 2004/101 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Elsa Knight Thompson Papers, 1935-1987, consist of Thompson's personal papers spanning her career at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the 1940s until her death in California in 1983. The collection contains family and personal correspondence, business files, legal files related to her litigation against KPFA, including trial transcripts, a draft autobiography with a series of interviews with Thompson during the 1970s and 80s, calendars, and ephemera.
Thompson, who grew up in Seattle, Washington, was a progressive journalist and one of the first women to break into international broadcasting as a news anchor and commentator during World War II. She spent a large part of her career as Public Affairs Director at KPFA in Berkeley, California. Career highlights at KPFA include the first-ever radio broadcast on what is now called gay liberation and interviews with Paul Robeson, James Baldwin, Malvina Reynolds, and Black Panther members.
- Acquisition information:
- The Elsa Knight Thompson Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Lincoln Bergman on December 19, 2003.
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2004
- Date Encoded:
- Machine-readable finding aid created by James Lake. Machine-readable finding aid derived from Wordperfect. Date of source: April 2004.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
- Preferred citation:
-
Elsa Knight Thompson papers. BANC MSS 2004/101 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481