Heller, Francis Papers

Dates: 1955-2009

Member of the Board of Directors, Harry S. Truman Library Institute, 1958-1996

The papers of Francis Heller include correspondence, press clippings, reports, and other items concerning Francis Heller and his career with the Harry S. Truman Library Institute.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 5 linear inches (about 400 pages).
Access: Open, with the exception of two documents that are closed in accordance with restrictions contained in the donor's deed of gift.
Copyright: The donor gave his copyright interest in writing in this collection, and in any other collection in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration, to the United States of America. Documents created by U.S. Government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents in this collection presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Elizabeth Endecott (2018) 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

1917 (August 24)

 

Born Francis H. Heller, Vienna, Austria

1941

 

Received Juris Doctor Degree, University of Virginia

1942-1947, 1951-1952

 

Served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War, rising to the rank of Captain

1943

 

Naturalized as a citizen of the United States

1947

 

Assistant Professor of Government, College of William and Mary

1948

 

Received Ph.D. degree in Political Science, University of Virginia

1948-1951

 

Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Kansas

1954-1955

 

Assistant to Former President Harry S. Truman in the writing of Truman's

Memoirs

1956-2003

 

Held various positions at the University of Kansas, including Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Law and Political Science, Dean of Faculties, and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

1958-1996

 

Member of the Board of Directors of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, serving as Vice President for much of that time

2013 (January 9)

 

Died, Denver, Colorado

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

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Francis Heller include correspondence, press clippings, reports, and other items concerning Heller's career with the Harry S. Truman Library Institute for National and International Affairs. The collection is arranged in one series, a Subject File, and organized alphabetically by folder title.

The collection contains Heller's correspondence with a number of people, including Truman Library Directors Larry Hackman and Benedict K. Zobrist; former Institute President Elmer Ellis; and Ray Geselbracht of the Truman Library staff. The most extensive correspondence in the collection consists of letters and faxes sent to Donald Dawson, another Institute official, reporting on the activities of the Institute's Board of Directors during the 1990s; during this period, the Institute was restructured to improve its ability to provide financial support to the Truman Library. The correspondence in the collection consists mostly of letters and faxes received by Heller, but also includes some copies of Heller's outgoing correspondence

The collection also contains press clippings relating to honors Heller received in recognition of his work for the Institute and his academic career at the University of Kansas; information about a proposed film documentary on the life of Harry S. Truman; and a manuscript entitled, "‘That the People May Know': Twenty-Five Years of the Harry S. Truman Library."

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of Benedict Zobrist and Larry Hackman; the Records of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute; and Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (Harry S. Truman Library).

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1

  SUBJECT FILE, 1955-2009
Correspondence, press clippings, reports, and other items. Arranged alphabetically by folder title, and thereunder chronologically.
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FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1955-2009

Box 1

  • Altman Film Project
  • Articles
  • Correspondence
  • Dawson, Donald
  • Deed
  • Harry S. Truman Library Institute
  • Newspaper Clippings
  • Photographs
  • Speeches
  • "That the People May Know": Twenty-Five Years of the Harry S. Truman Library
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]