Conant, Grace Thayer Richards, 1898-1985

Person

Biographical note

Grace Thayer Richards Conant (1898-1985), whose nickname within her family was "Patty," had a life deeply intertwined with people and events at Harvard University in mid-twentieth century, and later with post-war Germany. Her father, Theodore William Richards, was a chemistry professor and her family home was about ten minutes' walk from Harvard Yard. Her grandfather was Joseph Henry Thayer, also a professor at Harvard. She studied for a time at Radcliffe College. In 1920 she married James Bryant Conant, a student of her father, who continued at Harvard as student, instructor, preofessor, and, from 1933 to 1953, President of Harvard University. The role of the spouse of the Harvard President at the time was to engage in social activities, and Grace Conant founded the Newcomers' Club to further social cohesion on campus. James B. Conant left Harvard to become High Commissioner for Germany. Grace was fluent in German and supported James' work in Germany by touring, speaking, and editing James' German writing and speeeches.

Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:

Conant, Grace Richards, 1936-1938

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, oversize, ca. 1829-1985 / Imagegroup: Conant, Grace Richards

Item — Unspecified Box 2Identifier: HUP (BP), HUP Conant, Grace Richards (BP 1),

Conant, Grace Richards

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, oversize, ca. 1829-1985

imageGroup Identifier: HUP (BP)

Papers of James Bryant Conant, 1862-1987

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives

Collection Identifier: UAI 15.898

Overview: James Bryant Conant (1893-1978) was a chemist, educator and public servant. The wide variety of his interests and occupations are reflected in the title of his memoirs, My Several Lives. Conant's "several lives" included periods as a Harvard University chemistry professor, Harvard University president, national director of defense research, ambassador to Germany and as an author of critical works examining secondary education in the United States. This collection documents professional...

Conant, Mrs. Grace R. [Grace "Patty" Thayer Richards], 1950-51

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Records of the President of Harvard University, James Bryant Conant, 1933-1955 / Series: Correspondence, 1933-1955 / Sub-Series: Official Correspondence / Annual_gathering: 1950-1951

Item — Unspecified UAI5.168 Box 394Identifier: UAI 5.168.XX, UAI5.168

Scope of the Official Correspondence Subseries:: Chiefly incoming and outgoing correspondence of James Bryant Conant during his tenure as President of Harvard University documenting Conant's administrative duties as president as well as his involvement national affairs. Though primarily correspondence, the subseries also includes reports, memoranda, and other documents created and received by Conant in his capacity as Harvard's president and as a member of several national committees. Events relating to Harvard University that...

Conant, Mrs. James B. [Grace "Patty" Thayer (Richards) Conant], [1938-1943]

FOUND IN: Harvard Art Museums Archives / Collection: Papers of Edward Waldo Forbes, 1867-2005 / Series: General Correspondence

Item — Box 19: Series I., Folder: 437Identifier: HC 2, I., 437.

Scope and Content: The correspondence in this series documents Edward Waldo Forbes' career as Director of the Fogg Museum, his research interests in the technical study of works of art, his national and international travels, his role as a mentor to students and colleagues, his involvement on boards and committees, and various other personal and professional endeavors and interests. The papers date from 1867 to 2005, with the bulk spanning the years 1909-1944, and consist primarily of...

Papers of Edward Waldo Forbes, 1867-2005

FOUND IN: Harvard Art Museums Archives

Collection Identifier: HC 2

Overview: These papers of Fogg Museum director Edward Waldo Forbes document his administration of the museum and a wide range of personal and professional activities and interests. The bulk of the collection dates from 1909 to 1944. The papers consist primarily of correspondence, including a series of correspondence with art dealers, and also include photographs, reports, expedition field notes and journals, printed material, newspaper clippings, blueprints, meeting minutes, letters of recommendation,...

[Letter from Abbott Lawrence Lowell to Mrs. James B. Conant [Grace Thayer Richards Conant, 1898-1985] with a postscript concerning the banjo clock in the President's House, 1936 December 14]

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Papers of Abbott Lawrence Lowell, 1861-1945, 1953 and undated / Series: Harvard related materials, 1877-1943, 1953 / Sub-Series: Chronologically arranged Harvard records, 1900-1943

Item Identifier: UAI 15.896, UAI 15.896 Box 51, Folder 15

Scope and Contents: This subseries chiefly chronicles Abbott Lawrence Lowell's activities as a professor at Harvard including his service on committees dedicated to improving the curriculum and stimulating academic achievement among Harvard students; there is very little material in this subseries referring to Lowell's tenure as Harvard president. This subseries offers a glimpse into academic achievement at Harvard and includes a Committee on Academic Distinction report (1907) co-authored by Lowell on academic...

Newcomers' Club Records, 1939-1972

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Records of the College Teas Association and Harvard Neighbors, 1894-1995.

Series Identifier: HUD 3824

Scope and Content of the Collection: These records document the establishment, organization, and activities of the College Teas Association and its evolution into Harvard Neighbors, as well as the establishment of the Newcomer's Club. In so doing, these records also document the changing social roles and lives of women at Harvard University, their use of a formal social network, and the experiences of college professors wives in the United States throughout the 20th century. Most of the records document the history...

Pencil sketch of [James] Conant done by Mrs. [Grace "Patty" Thayer] Conant, 1949

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Papers of James Bryant Conant, 1862-1987 / Series: Biographical Materials, 1862-1971 / Sub-Series: Personal and family materials, 1862-1970

Item — Unspecified Box 143Identifier: UAI 15.898

Scope of the personal and family materials subseries: The notebooks, scrapbooks, daily calendars, photographs, diaries and other assorted materials in this subseries document Conant's life as well as the lives of some of his family members. There are materials from his early school days along with diplomas and other documents marking pivotal events in his life. The daily calendars contain brief entries regarding Conant's appointments. Materials about Conant's family members includes two diaries with brief entries kept by Conant's...

Photograph of [James] Conant and Mrs. [Grace "Patty"] Conant in Germany ca. 1953-1957

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Papers of James Bryant Conant, 1862-1987 / Series: High Commissioner and Ambassador to Germany, 1953-1959 / Sub-Series: Photographs, 1953-1957

Item — Unspecified Box 144Identifier: UAI 15.898

Scope of the High Commissioner and Ambassador to Germany Series:

The series documents Conant's service as United States High Commissioner for Germany and United States Ambassador to Germany. Paper documents include texts of official speeches given by Conant, his travel itineraries and correspondence regarding his arrival and departure in Germany. Other formats found in this series are scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings (chiefly from German newspapers).

Pres. and Mrs. Conant [Grace Thayer Richards Conant] and March of Time, circa early 1950s, early 1950s

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Subjects / Alphagroup: M / Category: Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels

Item — Unspecified HUPSF Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels Folder 2Identifier: HUPSF, HUPSF Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels (8-17)

Scope of the Photographic subjects file:

Photographs chiefly depict the Harvard community and its environment, chiefly groups of people or places they inhabit. Some images included here are not photographs. Rarely, images may be other two-dimensional images such as engravings, drawings, or paintings, or photographic reproductions of such two-dimensional artwork.

President and Mrs. Conant [Grace Thayer Richards Conant] and March of Time, circa early 1950s, early 1950s

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Collection: Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Subjects / Alphagroup: M / Category: Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels

Item — Unspecified HUPSF Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels Folder 1Identifier: HUPSF, HUPSF Motion Pictures, Feature Films, Newsreels (1-7)

Scope of the Photographic subjects file:

Papers of Theodore William Richards

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives

Collection Identifier: HUG 1743.xx

Overview: Theodore William Richards (1868-1928), Harvard's first Nobel Laureate and first American recipient of a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, received his A.B. from Harvard in 1886 and his A.M. and Ph.D. in 1888. He taught chemistry at Harvard from 1891 to 1928, becoming the Erving Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory in 1912. The Papers of Theodore William Richards document his professional and personal life. Professional papers include correspondence, teaching...

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Also known by the following names:

Conant, Patty, 1898-1985

Conant, Grace Thayer Richards, 1898-1985

Biographical note

Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:

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