Collection Guide
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Gay (Edwin Francis) Papers
mssGY
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Edwin Francis Gay papers
Creator:
Gay, Edwin F. (Edwin Francis), 1867-1946
Identifier/Call Number: mssGY
Physical Description:
163.45 Linear Feet
(206 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1786-1973
Date (bulk): 1920-1946
Abstract: A collection of personal and professional material related to Edwin Francis Gay's life and career as an American economist
and historian.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Edwin Francis Gay papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Margaret Gay Davies, 1973.
Edwin Francis Gay (1867-1946) was an American economist and historian. Gay was born on October 27, 1867, the son of Aaron
F. Gay and Mary (Loud) Gay. He graduated from the University of Michigan, and afterwards did graduate work in Germany and
received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1902. In 1893, he married Louise FitzRandolph; the couple had two children:
Edward Randolph Gay and Margaret Gay Davies. Gay was first affiliated with Harvard University from 1901 to 1919, first as
assistant professor and then professor of economics. In 1908, he became the first the Dean of Harvard Business School. During
World War I he served as director of the Division of Statistics of the United States Shipping Board, and the Imports Bureau
of the War Trade Board; he was also a member of the War Industries Board. From 1919 to 1923 Gay was editor of the New York
Evening Post. In addition to his other work, Gay co-founded the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Council of Foreign
Relations. In 1924, he returned to Harvard University as Professor of Economic History. In 1936, he accepted a research position
at the Huntington Library; in 1941 Gay was appointed Chairman of the Research Group and he remained in this position until
his death in 1946.
A collection of 9,601 items from 1786 to 1973, which consists of professional and personal material related to Edwin Francis
Gay's life and multifaceted career. The collection documents his career in the civil service, at Harvard University, the New
York Evening Post, and the Huntington Library; there are also some papers related to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Subjects include European economic recovery after World War I; international economic relations after World War II; United
States business; and Gay's voluminous research notes on European and American economic history. Also included are Gay's notes
on the Temple family papers in the Stowe collection at the Huntington Library and correspondence and papers relative to Herbert
Heaton's book Scholar in action : Edwin Francis Gay (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1952). The collection also includes
business, family and personal correspondence, documents, genealogy, printed material, photographs, clippings, and ephemera.
Also present is Woodrow Wilson telegram to Edwin Francis Gay, 1919 September 17 (GY 3292) in Box 124.
Processed by Harriet McLune, 1988. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report. In 2022,
Melissa Haley enhanced description of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American Presidential
Papers Project.
Former call number: mssGY Boxes 1-196.
Edwin Francis Gay papers, related to Gay's work at the New York Evening Post, were donated in 1954 by Margaret Gay Davies,
to Houghton Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Edwin Francis Gay collection, related to Gay's World War I activities, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, Stanford,
California.
Organized in the following series: 1. School notes; 2. Research and teaching; 3. Personal documents, tributes, and biographical
materials; 4. Photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings; 5. Miscellaneous documents, tourist maps, guidebooks, and printed
material; 5. Family correspondence; 6. Family documents and genealogy; 7. Professional and business correspondence.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Economic history -- Sources
Economists -- United States -- Archives
Economists -- United States -- Biography -- Archives
Newspaper editors -- United States -- Archives
Europe -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945
Europe -- Economic conditions -- 1945- -- Sources
United States -- Commerce -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
United States -- Intellectual life -- 20th century -- Sources
Family papers -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Photographs -- United States
Research (document genres) -- United States -- 20th century
Heaton, Herbert, 1890-1973 -- Scholar in action : Edwin Francis Gay
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Temple family -- Archives
Harvard Business School -- History -- Sources
Harvard University -- Faculty -- Archives
Harvard University. Graduate School of Business Administration -- History -- Sources
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery -- Officials and employees -- Archives
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery -- History -- Sources
National Bureau of Economic Research -- Officials and employees -- Archives
United States. War Industries Board -- Officials and employees -- Archives
United States. Shipping Board -- Officials and employees -- Archives
New York post