Batt, William L. Papers

Dates: 1940-1965

Vice-Chairman, War Production Board, 1941-1945; Chief of Economic Cooperation Administration Mission in Great Britain, 1950-1952

The papers of William L. Batt include correspondence, press clippings, reports, diaries, a significant number of transcripts of addresses, and other items concerning Batt’s career in government, especially his work with the War Production Board and the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) Mission in Great Britain.

[Administrative Information | Folder Title List]

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

Size: 2 linear feet, 2 linear inches.
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donors gave to the U.S. government their copyrights in this material and in any other material received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1977); John Shay and David Clark (2015); Jan Davis and David Clark (2016); Randy Sowell (2023).
Updated by: Molly Black (2019) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1885 (July 31)

 

Born William Loren Batt, Salem, Indiana

1907

 

M.E., Purdue University

1909 (October 28)

 

Married Ruby Burroughs (she died in 1949)

1919-1923

 

Vice President and General Manager, Svenska Kullagerfabriken (SKF) – world’s largest bearing manufacturer

1923-1950

 

President, SKF

1933

 

D. Eng., Purdue University

1940

 

Deputy Director of Production Division, Office of Production Management

1941

 

Deputy Director of Raw Materials Division, Office of Production Management

1941-1945

 

Vice-Chairman, War Production Board

1942

 

Received Philadelphia Award

1946

 

Received Medal of Merit from President Truman and the Insignia of the Order of St. Michael and St. George from the Canadian Government

1950 (December 15)

 

Married Madeline Clark Walther

1950-1952

 

Chief, Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) Mission in Great Britain

1965 (February 10)

 

Died, Delray Beach, Florida

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of William L. Batt include correspondence, press clippings, reports, diaries, a significant number of transcripts of addresses, and other items concerning Batt’s career in government, especially his work with the War Production Board and the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) Mission in Great Britain. The collection is arranged in one series, a Subject File.

The collection also contains correspondence, reports, diaries, and printed materials concerning topics such as the administration of the Marshall Plan in Great Britain; the World Affairs Council; labor and defense; and U.S.-Canada relations. Also included are a significant number of transcripts of speeches relating to the War Production Board between 1941–1945. One press clipping regards the coronation of Elizabeth II in Great Britain in 1953. There is also some personal correspondence in the collection.

The collection also contains the contents of scrapbooks related to the ECA and printed materials related to dinners and awards ceremonies attended by Batt.

The Truman Library also has an oral history interview with Batt’s son, William L. Batt, Jr. More information about the Marshall Plan can be found at the Library in the papers of Paul G. Hoffman, Harry G. Price, and Paul R. Porter.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1-5

  SUBJECT FILE, 1940-1965
Correspondence, press clippings, reports, diaries, a significant number of transcripts of addresses, and other items. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1940-1964

Box 1

  • Books
  • Canadian-United States Relations
  • Economist Diary, 1951
  • Economist Diary, 1952
  • Memorabilia
  • Personal Letters
  • Photographs
  • Press Clippings [1 of 3]

Box 2

  • Press Clippings [2 of 3]
  • Press Clippings [3 of 3]
  • Printed Materials [1 of 3]
  • Printed Materials [2 of 3]
  • Printed Materials [3 of 3]

Box 3

  • Reference File
  • Salary - Record of Payments
  • Scrapbook, 1950
  • Scrapbook, ECA Mission, Volume I
  • Scrapbook, ECA Mission, Volume II
  • Scrapbook, ECA Mission, Volume III
  • Speeches, 1940-1941
  • Speeches, 1942-1944
  • Speeches, 1946-1964 [1 of 3]
  • Speeches, 1946-1964 [2 of 3]

Box 4

  • Speeches, 1946-1964 [3 of 3]
  • Travel Authorization
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1941 [1 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1941 [2 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1942 [1 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1942 [2 of 2]

Box 5

  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1943
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1944 [1 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1944 [1 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1945 [1 of 2]
  • War Production Board – Addresses, 1945 [2 of 2]
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Folder Title List ]