Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Anyone wishing to quote from the letters should seek permission from Mrs. Weedon.

Preferred Citation

Letters from William S. Weedon to George Gaines Leckie, 1959-1984, Accession # 10766,-a, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These letters were given to the Library by Mr. George Leckie of Teuchitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, on June 22, 1988.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of ca. 300 letters, 1959-1984, and their enclosures, from the former University of Virginia professor of philosophy, William Stone Weedon (1908-1984) to his friend and fellow philosopher, George Leckie (1905- ). Both men were graduates of the University of Virginia.

Weedon began his career at the University as an instructor in philosophy, 1934-1938, receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in 1936. He continued teaching in Charlottesville throughout his career with a few leaves of absence for military duty and research until his retirement in 1979.

The letters range widely in content and include such topics as Oriental philosophy, poetry, cooking, and art, other culinary delights, his non-classified work for the Office of Naval Research as a naval officer, family life, and many tidbits of University of Virginia social and academic life from the faculty perspective.

Sampling of the contents of William Weedon's letters to George Leckie:

Weedon expresses his discontent with the University of Virginia and faculty
1960 Feb 7

He describes his enjoyment of a tour of duty at the National War College, his attempts to secure Chinese books for the Alderman Library, his Far Eastern Philosophy undergraduate class, and a course on F.H. Bradley
1960 Oct 9

He describes the pitfalls of linguistic analysis (see also 1962 Apr 29)
1960 Nov 18

Weedon decides to leave UVa to take on the Chairmanship of the Philosophy Department at Wesleyan University
1961 Mar 12

Resignations in the Philosophy Department leave only two faculty and cause much disruption
1961 June 5

He describes his new idyllic academic life at Wesleyan University
1961 Oct 6

Weedon returns to work for UVa as University Professor directly under the President (the second such appointment in University history) but has uncongenial relationships with the "Oxford analysts" running the Philosophy Department
1963 May 30

He mentions his work with the Office of Naval Research, and Leckie's work re the Chinese game of Go
1963 Jul 10

He discusses his work on the Virginia Quarterly Review board as a junior member, his unhappiness with the intellectual life at UVa, IBM translating machines, and abstract math
1963 Dec 2

Weedon mentions the excellent collection of Chinese seals at Alderman Library
1964 Sep 15

He expresses his appreciation for the personal han or Japanese seal secured for him by the Leckies while in Japan
1964 Sep 20

He describes the participation of UVa faculty in the presidential election of 1964
[1964]

Weedon is appointed as University Center Fellow in Asian Studies
1965 Mar 24

The Weedons host the annual meeting of the Herb Society of America at Farmington, Weedon expresses his opinion of Robert Gooch, and the game of Go is discussed again
1965 Jun 8

He mentions the Freer Museum in Washington, D.C., its excellent Oriental art and taking his students there as part of their class work
1965 Nov 22

He gets a leave of absence for Chinese and Philosophy studies in September of 1966
1966 Feb 10

He attends a meeting of the Japan Sword Society
1966 Nov 14

Weedon describes his "Oriental Literature in Translation" course
1967 May 20

Eggplant is thoroughly discussed
1967 Aug 10

This letter includes a bibliography re Japanese gardens, a topic for a talk by Weedon
1968 Jan 15

Weedon mentions Lillian Harvey
1968 Aug 18

Weedon departs to serve as Visiting Professor at the University of Texas
1968 Sep 5

He tells the story of Charles Hartshorne at Berkeley University returning home to find that a group of hippies had been "living off the land" in his home while he was away
1968 Oct 8

Weedon explores Alfred N. Whitehead's doctrine of vagrant solids
1968 Nov 3

The sesquicentennial at UVa
1969 Mar 31

Weedon reads Jorge Luis Borges
1969 Jun 4

Weedon teaches "Nonsense: Its Meaning and Effect" course for the first time and describes the damage from the great flood in Nelson County
1969 Sep 18

He discusses pet cemeteries and their practices at length
1970 Jun 23

Weedon encloses his Buddhism bibliography and asks Leckie for further suggestions
1970 Oct 7

He views the moon rocks
1970 Nov 15

He furnishes an enlightening example of Chinese literature under Chairman Mao
1970 Nov 23

Weedon gives an eye-witness account of the violence surrounding Indian elections, their practice of offering to sell female relations to visiting tourists, and mentions his experience with a helpful Sikh
1971 Mar 5

Weedon's work as a consultant for a Cambodian-English dictionary (see also 1972 June 25, Aug 24)
1971 Apr 25

Weedon leaves the Board of the University Press of Virginia
1971 May 29

He describes the visit of Thubten Jigme Norbu (the brother of the Dalai Lama) to Monticello and his amazement that Thomas Jefferson kept slaves
1972 Apr 15

He describes the flood of the James River, especially its effect on Richmond
1972 Jun 25

Weedon expounds upon the science of knot tying, mentioning his navy lecture on the subject
1972 Aug 24

Weedon comments upon the recent presidential election
1972 Nov 6

He describes the ubiquitous Japanese tourist in Paris, France
1973 Jul 2

His account of several of his "amoral" graduate philosophy students and their activities in Southwest Virginia
1974 Jun 17

Staige Blackford, Jr.'s appointment as editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review
1974 Aug 20

Weedon discusses the renovated Rotunda
1975 Apr 30

Weedon talks about the Prospect Hill Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
1975 May 4

He mentions the Virginia Quarterly Review (see also 1976 Oct 10, Dec 31)
1975 Dec 22

Weedon's opinion of the Corcoran Department of Philosophy
1977 Feb 12

Weedon's opinion of sociology, especially at UVa
1978 Sep 12

He discusses real numbers
1979 Sep 7

Weedon offers his solution for the deterioration of books
1980 Apr 23

He mentions the "improvements" at Alumni Hall
1981 Oct 30

Ralph Samson gets a mention by Weedon
1982 Jan 28

Weedon expresses his opinion of Frank Hereford's idea of the presidency of UVa
1982 Nov 9

The Morea controversy and Weedon's involvement (see also 1983 Apr 7, June 13, Nov 14)
1983 Jan 19

Weedon mentions his liking for James Melville's Japanese detective novels
1983 Dec 13

Weedon heralds his discovery of the Kiwi fruit
n.y. Aug 31