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Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections LibraryP.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
URL: https://small.library.virginia.edu/
Stephanie Ricker
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the History Club are maintained by the University of Virginia. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. Please contact them for more information.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use
Preferred Citation
RG 23/13 History Club records, box number, folder number, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, Univeristy of Virginia.
Historical Note
The History Club at the University of Virginia was founded in 1949-1950, with an intent to bring members of the University community together through a shared love of history. The club regularly hosted meetings which almost always featured a guest speaker. Annually, the club hosted an essay contest for both undergraduates and graduates, and such papers take up a large portion of this collection. The club also sent out newsletters and published a magazine featuring the aforementioned essays.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains correspondence, financial documents, meeting minutes, essay contest papers and their judgements, general body announcements, and miscellaneous documents. This collection includes correspondence with John F. Kennedy, then-Senator, who politely declined an invitation to speak at the club due to his busy schedule.
Container List
Correspondence in this collection spans from 1949 to 1967, featuring letters between members, letters to potential guest speakers for the club, letters to faculty and staff of the University, newsletters, and invitations.
The Constitution of the History Club has a 1950, 1956, and 1957 version, which all contain minor changes of the previous version. It stipulates the rules and by-laws for all members of the club and how the club should be structured.
The History Club's essay contest was an annual affair that invited both undergraduate and graduate students to submit an essay on a historical topic of their choice. Essays were then judged by professionals from different academic instiutions and awards were given based on those judgements. Those papers were then featured in the history club's magazine the following year.