Overview
Papers collected while editor and publisher Melvin Luxton Arnold (1913-2000) worked for the American Unitarian Association
Dates
- Creation: 1945-1956.
Extent
1.67 linear feet (5 boxes)Papers collected while Arnold worked for the American Unitarian Association. Includes files and correspondence on Albert Schweitzer, 1945-1953; on Stephen H. Fritchman, 1945-1956; files on Paul Blanshard, 1948-1953; and files on the National Committee of Free Unitarians, 1947-1948.
Biographical / Historical
Melvin Luxton Arnold (1913-2000) was born in Portland, Oregon to Daniel and Letitia Luxton Arnold. While attending Franklin High School, he secured a position with The News Telegram (Portland, Oregon) which was the beginning of a long and distinguished publishing career. Arnold married Valerie Hendricksen and had one child, Alexandra, born in 1933. In 1946 he became the director of the Beacon Press, the Unitarian publishing house, and he transformed it into a widely recognized voice for liberal religious values. At the same time he also became director of the Unitarian newspaper, The Christian Register. Arnold is well known for being an editor for Albert Schweitzer, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a number of other well-known figures in American society.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Letters relating to the gift
- Albert Schweitzer Files 1945-1953
- Stephen H. Fritchman Files, 1945-1956
- Paul Blanshard Files, 1948-1953
- National Committee of Free Unitarians, 1947-1948
- Division of Publication Papers, 1946-1952
Acquisition Information
Gift of Melvin Arnold, 1976.
- Title
- Arnold, Melvin. Papers: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00204
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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