Wright, Douglas G. Papers

Dates: 1939-1974

Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration, 1943-1972

The papers of Douglas G. Wright contain speeches, letters, meeting minutes, and newspaper articles concerning his service as administrator of the Southwestern Power Administration. Also included is Wright's personal scrapbook pertaining to his career, along with photographs, correspondence, press releases, and booklets on the history of the Southwestern Power Administration.

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

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 10 linear inches (1,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government his copyrights in this material. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their 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 (1974).
Updated by: Chad L. King (2014) 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

1907 (October 13)

 

Born, Springer, New Mexico

1931

 

Bachelor of Science, U.S. Naval Academy

1931

 

Instructor of Mathematics, Gulfport Military Academy, Gulfport, Mississippi

1933-1937

 

Engineer Examiner, Public Works Administration (PWA), Washington, D.C.

1937-1940

 

Assistant Chief Project Engineer, PWA, Kearney, Nebraska

1941

 

Chief Engineer, Power Division, Federal Works Administration, (FWA), Washington, D.C.

1941

 

Acting Chief, Power Division, FWA, Washington, D.C.

1941-1943

 

Special Representative of FWA Administrator, Vinita and Tulsa, Oklahoma

1943-1972

 

Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration

1991 (March 3)

 

Died

     
     
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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The Douglas G. Wright papers contain speeches, letters, meeting minutes, and newspaper articles concerning his service as administrator of the Southwestern Power Administration. Also included is Wright's personal scrapbook pertaining to his career, along with photographs, correspondence, press releases, and booklets on the history of the Southwestern Power Administration.

The only series, the Subject File, contains items almost exclusively dealing with Wright's career as administrator of the Southwestern Power Administration (SPA). The collection consists mostly of Wright's speeches, and newspaper clippings from his scrapbook. Some additional items from his scrapbook include: White House invitations from Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, letters of appreciation from public officials, news clippings of the Kennedy assassination, and programs from events at which Wright was invited to speak. Budget and expense reports of the Grand River Dam project are included in the collection. Wright's papers conclude with a collection of speeches that he delivered as administrator of the SPA. Many of Wright's speeches detailed the importance of the Grand River Dam and defended it against its critics. Many of Wright's other speeches emphasized the importance of public power and the SPA's achievements in making it possible.

More information about the federal government's public power programs can be found at the Truman Library in the papers of Roscoe Bell, C. Girard Davidson, Dale E. Doty, and John A. Short, and in Record Group 220: Records of the President's Water Resources Policy Commission.

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1-2

  SUBJECT FILE, 1939-1974
Speeches by Douglas G. Wright, along with newspaper articles about his career with the Southwestern Power Administration, correspondence, meeting minutes, press releases, and other items. Arranged alphabetically.
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FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1939-1974

Box 1

  • Advisory Committee on Power for the Southwest Meeting Minutes
  • Biographical Sketch
  • Correspondence
  • Grand River Dam Project
  • Newspaper Clippings
  • Press Releases
  • Scrapbook [1 of 2]
  • Scrapbook [2 of 2]

Box 2

  • Southwestern Power Administration
  • Speeches [1 of 4]
  • Speeches [2 of 4]
  • Speeches [3 of 4]
  • Speeches [4 of 4]
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]