Overview
Records of Walter Lichtenstein cheifly in his roles as Executive Secretary and as Vice President of the First National Bank of Chicago.
Dates
- 1918-1958
Creator
- Lichtenstein, Walter (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Extent
33 cubic feet (93 boxes, 1 folder of photographs, and 1 panoramic photograph)
Records of Walter Lichtenstein chiefly in his role as Executive Secretary and later as Vice President of the First National Bank of Chicago. One document box holds records from his time as Chief of Financial Institutions during the U.S. military occupation of Germany at the end of the Second World War.
Biographical summary
Walter Lichtenstein (born Germany 1880; died Cambridge, Massachusetts 1964) was a librarian and a banker. He worked at Harvard University and at Northwestern University as a librarian and switched to banking in 1918 as suspected German sympathies resulted in his leaving Northwestern. His banking activities were chiefly at the First National Bank of Chicago.
Biographical chronology
- 1880 April 13: Walter Lichtenstein born to Joseph and Rosa (Elkan) Lichtenstein in Brunswick, Germany
- 1881: Brought to the United States
- 1884-1895: Attends Hoboken Academy
- 1889: A.B. New York University
- 1900: A.B. Harvard University
- 1901: A.M. Harvard University
- 1902-1903: Editor of the New International Encyclopedia
- 1905-1906: Curator of the Hohenzollern Collection of Harvard University, travels in Europe for fourteen months on a book-buying trip
- 1906 August 29: Marries Gemma Elizabeth Baumgarten of Arlington, New Jersey
- 1906: Appointed assistant-in-charge of the European collections in the Harvard College library
- 1907: Ph.D. Harvard University
- 1908-1918: Head librarian of Northwestern University and member of the faculty with the rank of professor
- 1911: Travels to Europe on a library book-buying trip
- 1913-1915: Travels to South America on a library book-buying trip
- 1918: Resigns from his position at Northeastern University under suspicion of pro-German activities during World War I
- 1918-1921: Foreign Trade Advisor, First National Bank of Chicago
- 1921-1933: Executive Secretary, First National Bank of Chicago
- 1929: General Secretary of the Organizing Committee of the Bank for International Settlements which met in Baden-Baden, Germany
- 1930: Travels to Russia on behalf of the International Harvester Company and the First National Bank of Chicago
- 1932: Delegate of the Government of the United States at the Telecommunication Conference at Madrid, Spain
- 1933-1945: Vice President First National Bank of Chicago
- 1945 October-1947 December: Chief of Financial Institutions, Branch of Military Government of Germany
- 1948-1954: Speaks and writes, conultant for International Harvester Company
- 1954: Honorary Curator of Harvard University Library
- 1964 March 14: dies in Cambridge, Massachusetts at 83 years of age
Custodial History
Gifted to the Harvard College Library from Walter Lichtenstein prior to 1977.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession 09241 received from the Harvard College Library 1981 July 1.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2020 September 14.
Processing Information
This inventory encoded by Kate Bowers with data from an inventory database and internal control files. Material not examined.
Creator
- Lichtenstein, Walter (Person)
- Title
- Lichtenstein, Walter, 1880-1964. Business records of Walter Lichtenstein, 1895-1958 : an inventory
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- EAD ID
- hua49018
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu