ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

ORIN G. LIBBY PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #49 (addition)

DATES:1915-1969; Bulk Dates 1917-1924

SIZE: .25 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: This addition to the Orin G. Libby Papers was deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Eva Libby, Grand Forks, North Dakota on May 12, 1957. The acquisition records are unavailable. The material was closed until the death of the last child of Orin and Eva Libby, Charles Cory Libby, on August 28, 1996.

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This addition to the Orin G. Libby Papers consists of correspondence and newspaper clippings, the bulk of which date from 1917-1924. A majority of the material deals with the relationship between Libby and UND President Thomas F. Kane, which was contemptuous. Libby was a central figure in unsuccessful efforts to oust Kane from the presidency in 1920. Kane responded by usurping some of Libby's power as Head of the Department of History, by making European History a separate department.

The conflict heated up again in 1922, when Kane informed Libby that he was being forced into retirement. Libby protested and a faculty committee was convened. The committee found Libby guilty of nothing besides an inability to work with other people. The Board of Administration, however, recommended that Libby be dismissed at the end of the 1923 spring term. His dismissal was eventually rescinded in 1923 due to pressure from alumni. Libby remained at the university until his retirement in 1945. Further information regarding the Kane-Libby conflict can be found in University of the Northern Plains by Louis Geiger, pages 303-317.

Other subjects discussed in the papers relate to Libby's support of Earle Babcock as Interim University President following the resignation of Frank McVey in 1917, the influenza epidemic of 1918, and general student and faculty life on campus.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 9
Folder

36. Correspondence: 1915
37. Correspondence: 1917
38. Correspondence: 1918
39. Correspondence: 1919
40. Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings: 1920
41. Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings: 1921
42. Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings: 1922
43. Correspondence: 1923
44. Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings: 1924
45. Correspondence: 1930
46. Newspaper Clippings: 1952, 1969

SEPARATIONS RECORD

Seven photographs were separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection.

OGL 49-38 Asa Libby (Orin's father): undated
OGL 49-39 Children of Asa and Julia Libby: 1882
OGL 49-40 Orin G. Libby's room at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: 1896
OGL 49-41 Orin G. Libby: 1897
OGL 49-42 Orin G. Libby: 1898-1902 (?)
OGL 49-43 Orin G. Libby: 1920 (?)
OGL 49-44 Orin G. Libby: 1920 (?)

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