Philip Cabot papers

The papers of Philip Cabot (1872-1941), expert on public utilities, reflect his professional and personal activities during the last twenty years of his life. The bulk of these materials fall within the 1920s and 1930s while he was professor of utility management and economics (1924-1934) and professor of business administration (1935-1941). A small amount of biographical material is included.

The records of Professor Cabot contain correspondence, letters send/received, speeches, articles, telegrams, transcripts, studies, reports, clippings, programs, graphs, teaching notes, memoranda, annotated cases, by-laws and minutes. These records document the development of the public utility management courses in the 1920s and early 1930s under the controversial sponsorship of the National Electric Light Association; reflect the organization, development, and achievements of the Business Executives Discussion Group and show Cabot's growing involvement in organizations concerned with the rise of European dictatorships and war in Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The records in this collection document the various directions taken by Professor Cabot at Harvard Business School in response to a variety of educational and social trends, as well as in response to the necessities of the economic depression of the 1930s. Such trends can be observed in the emphasis placed on the inclusion of legal, engineering, and financial facets in public utility cases and the development of the Industry and Government course which recognized the increasing relationship between the two in response to New Deal legislation. In addition, the correspondence reflects Professor Cabot's wide-ranging interests and his policy of discussing contemporary topics with family, friends, acquaintances, students, colleagues, and business, political and economic leaders of the day.

Of particular note in this collection are the material which chronicle the yearly activities, schedules, and responses of the Business Executives Discussion Group (1934-1941). Also of interest are correspondence with friends, family and colleagues on Harvard-related groups such the Harvard Public Health United (1940), Harvard Political Union (1935-1936), Students Service League for Defense [Harvard Chapter of American Student Defense League](1940), Committee on Observation of 25th Year of School (1933), American Quartermaster Corps (1940), and Baker Library Contributors (1935). For information on Cabot’s European trip to England to discuss industrial and economic problems, consult the records of European Trip, 1932. Also included in this record group are class notes for Harvard Business School public utility courses given in the 1920s and 1930s.